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JOHNA.SEAVERNS 


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THE 


AMERICAN  REFORMED 

HORSE  BOOK 


A  TREATISE  ON  THE 


CAUSES,  SYMPTOMS,  AND  CURE 

OF  ALL  THE  DISEASES  OF  THE  HORSE,  INCLUDING 
EVERY  DISEASE  PECULIAR  TO  AMERICA. 

ALSO  EMBRACING  FULL  INFORMATION  ON 

BREEDING,  REARING,  AND  MANAGEMENT. 

DESIGNED  FOE,  POPULAR  USE. 


By  Prof.  GEO.  H.  DADD,  V.  8., 

Late  Prof,  of  Anatomy  and  Physiology  in  the  Veterinary  Institute  of  Chicago, 
Author  of  the  "  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Horse"  etc. 


ELEGANTLY  ILLUSTRATED. 


NEW  YORK: 

Orange  judo   company, 

7  5  1     DRO  A  D  W  A  Y  . 
1889. 


MMtta&wm  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
W»  onary  Medicine  at 

TIB  Hi 'I; 

rlsUn 

OWestboiohjaa 

,rth  Grafton,  MA  01536 


7 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

R.    W.    CARROLL   &    CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Southern  District  of  Ohio. 


PREFACE. 


AMERICANS  rank  high  in  the  estimation  of  the  scientific 
world  for  their  genius  and  industry  in  the  great  work  ot 
intellectual,  moral,  and  scientific  improvements.  See  what  has 
occurred  in  the  arts  of  printing,  electrotyping,  etc.  The  eloquence 
of  the  great  literary  magicians  of  the  New  World,  the  honored 
Graduates  of  free  institutions  and  free  schools,  no  sooner  falls  from 
their  lips  than  the  phonographist  transfers  it  to  paper,  the  nimble 
fingers  of  the  compositor  puts  it  into  "  form ; "  next  the  "  battery  " 
deposits  on  the  face  of  the  type  a  more  durable  coating  of  copper, 
and  "  Hoe's  press"  sends  off  "  impressions"  with  almost  magical 
rapidity.  No  less  surprising  are  the  wonderful  feats  performed 
by  American  mechanics,  in  the  construction  of  fast  yachts  and 
steamers,  which  often  pluck  a  laurel  from  the  so-called  "  Mistress 
of  the  Sea  ;"  and  old  "Uncle  John  "  gives  us  due  credit  for  per- 
fecting a  race  of  fast  trotters  that  can  beat  the  world  of  horse- 
flesh. 

Improvements  in  every  department  of  Science  and  Art  are  con- 
stantly treading  on  the  heels  of  improvement;  yet,  as  regards  the 
science  of  Veterinary  Medicine  and  Surgery,  America  seems  almost 
the  last  among  civilized  nations  to  put  her  shoulder  to  the  wheel. 
What  can  be  the  reason?  Her  youth  may  be  offered  as  a  plea 
foi  excuses.  The  daughter  of  the  Old  World  has  not  yet,  in  this 
department,  arrived  at  years  of  discretion ;  she  is  yet  in  her  teens 
Her  sons  have  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day  in  establish- 
ing their  liberty,  in  founding  cities,  extending  commerce,  and  in 
taming  the  wild  face  of  soil,  by  uprooting  the  giant  oak,  and  in 
clearing  away  the  forest,  so  that  the  husbandman,  with  plow  and 
harrow  in  hand,  might  follow  on,  and  next  impregnate   mother 


i  ui  i 


PREFACE. 

earth  with  germs  for  fructification,  which,  in  the  day  of  the  har- 
vest thereof,  might  be  gathered  and  garnered  for  the  benefit  of 
man  and  the  inferior  orders  of  creation. 

And  long  ere  the  woodman's  ax  ceases  to  vibrate  its  clear 
stroke-notes  in  the  ears  of  the  new  settlers,  a  giant  enterprise  is 
in  contemplation.  Space  and  distance  must  be  comparatively  an- 
nihilated; the  iron  horse,  with  his  lungs  of  steel  and  breath  of 
steam,  must  have  his  highway  and  byway,  and  the  result  is,  the 
choice  spirits  of  progression  have  been  earnestly  engaged  in  dot- 
ting a  vast  surface  of  United  States  Territory  with  a  magnificent 
net-work  of  railway  and  telegraphic  wire ;  and  various  other  en- 
terprises, with  which  the  reader  is  familiar,  have  so  occupied  the 
American  mind,  that  the  Science  of  Life,  as  it  applies  to  animals, 
has  been  almost  at  a  stand-still. 

In  the  prosecution  of  these  objects,  so  essential  as  they  have 
proved  in  the  economy  of  an  infant  republic,  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  our  science  should  fail  to  receive  attention,  and  that 
America  should  be  in  the  rear  of  the  veterinary  squadrons  of 
the  Old  World ;  yet,  notwithstanding  this  seeming  indifference:, 
veterinary  science  does,  in  some  parts  of  this  country,  occupy  as 
high  a  platform  as  that  which  obtained  in  England,  about  sevent  y 
years  ago,  when  the  Apostle  of  Mercy,  St.  Bel,  first  landed  oa 
British  soil. 

The  science  which  we  here  advocate  is  as  valuable  and  chari- 
table to  nature's  menials,  for  the  purpose  of  ministering  to  their 
physical  wants,  relieving  their  aches  and  pains,  and  of  prolong- 
ing their  lives,  as  that  practiced  on  the  more  noble  of  created  life; 
and,  at  the  present  day,  testimony  can  be  produced  going  to  show 
that  among  us  can  be  found  "  good  Samaritans  "  who  are  always 
ready  to  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  inferior  orders  of  creation — 
a  work  as  acceptable  to  the  God  of  Nature,  and  as  creditable  to 
manhood,  as  when  the  welfare  of  one  of  us  is  concerned.  And 
should  we  estimate  the  science  in  exact  ratio  to  the  value  and  use- 
fulness of  the  legion  host  of  domestic  animals  that  have  been 
reared  in  this  country,  and  those  which,  without  regard  to  cost, 
have  been  imported,  to  whose  welfare  it  directly  contributes,  the 
reader  will  readily  perceive  that  it  is  entitled  to  the  consideration 
and  support  of  a  nation  of  husbandmen. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  knowledge  of  the  principles 
of  veterinary  medicine  can  not  be  acquired  without  diligent  study 


PREFACE.  V 

and  close  application.     It  is  only  the  property  of  the  industrious 
and  devoted  student. 

In  order  to  acquire  the  necessary  tact,  skill,  and  experience  for 
the  practice  of  our  art,  some  of  the  shining  lights — the  early  dis- 
ciples— have  spent  the  May-day  of  their  existence  in  sol  vino-  its 
problems,  and,  when  near  its  close,  have  declared,  with  a  modesty 
indicative  of  true  genius,  that  their  education  was  yet  incomplete. 

Such  testimony  goes  to  show  that  there  is  no  republican  nor 
royal  road  to  veterinary  knowledge.  In  fact,  after  a  man  has 
perseveringly  pursued  the  routine  studies  of  the  most  popular  col- 
legiate institutions,  he  may  still  be  found  "  wanting." 

Let  us  contemplate  for  a  moment  the  superior  advantages  which 
human  practitioners  have  over  our  craftsmen,  both  as  regards 
their  scientific  qualifications  and  the  superior  means  at  their  com- 
mand for  ascertaining  the  character,  location,  and  intensity  of  the 
various  maladies  peculiar  to  the  human  race.     For  example,  the 
practitioner  of  human  medicine,  if  he  has  been  a  faithful  and  in- 
dustrious student,  enters  upon  the  active  duties  of  his  profession, 
having  acquired  a  valuable  fund  of  knowledge  of  anatomy,  phys- 
iology, pathology,  and  other  necessary  branches  of  study ;  and, 
having  disciplined  his  mind  in  the  regular  school,  and  in  that  of 
experience,  he  is  expected  to  be  able  to  rejoice  in  the  possession  of 
a  well-trained  mind,  which  enables  him  to  understand  and  inter- 
pret the  physiological  laws  which  preserve  health  and  life  in  the 
constitution  of  organized  beings ;  also  to  comprehend  the  why  and 
wherefore  of  disease;  to  be  able  to  institute  sanitary  and  other  reg- 
ulations, and  to  select  suitable  medicinal  preparations,  in  view  of 
Meeting  the  various  indications  of  each  and  every  form  of  disease. 
And  when  a  man  becomes  the  subject  of  sickness,  and  the  doctor 
is  called  upon  to  exercise  his  skill,  the  latter  receives  valuable  aid, 
in  view  of  making  a  correct  diagnosis,  from  the  patient  and  his 
friends.     Each  can  be  questioned,  and  their  responses  throw  con- 
siderable  light  on  the  history  and  nature  of  the  malady.     Now, 
as  regards  the  latter  advantages,  they  have  no  parallel  with  the 
men  of  our  craft.     Our  patients  are  deprived  of  the  power  of 
speech,  and  we  can  only  judge  of  the  state  of  their  health,  and 
the  nature  of  their  maladies,  by  signs  revealed  or  elicited  through 
physical  exploration.     We  have  other  difficulties  to  encounter  of 
no  less  magnitude.     For  example,  our  patients  are  often  located 
m  situations  unfit  for  a  well  animal  to  reside  in,  and  they  do  not 


VI  PREFACE. 

always  receive  that  attention  from  their  owners  which  the  urgency 
of  the  case  demands.  In  fact,  the  good  nursing,  kind  attention, 
etc.,  which  often  proves  of  so  much  value  in  the  restoration  from 
sickness  of  one  of  our  race,  is  often  denied  the  inferior  creature  ; 
and  other  matters,  too  numerous  to  mention  at  the  present  time, 
tend  to  show  the  advantages  which  our  brethren  of  a  sister  science 
have  over  us,  and  how  necessary  and  important  it  is  that  a  prac- 
titioner of  our  art  should  be  thorough  master  of  his  profession, 
It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  the  great  majority  of  our  husband- 
men have  not  hitherto  realized  that  the  superstructure  of  veterin- 
ary science  rests  on  the  same  intelligent  basis  as  that  of  human 
medicine ;  but  such  is  really  the  case.  In  the  language  of  the  la- 
mented Percivall,  we  are  assured  that  "  whether  we  prescribe  for 
a  man,  horse,  or  any  animal,  the  laws  of  the  animal  economy  are 
the  same ;  all  require  the  same  treatment,"  that  is  to  say,  the 
propositions  for  restoration  are  all  founded  on  the  same  intelligent 
basis. 

The  importance,  therefore,  of  educating  men  for  the  profession, 
and  of  furnishing  reliable  works  for  study,  is  very  evident ;  and 
the  necessity  is  further  illustrated  in  the  daily  experience  of  those 
persons  who,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  are  obliged  to  do  the  best 
they  can  for  the  sick  and  dying  of  their  flocks  and  herds,  having 
no  knowledge  of  those  advantages  which  a  thorough  course  of 
training  affords.  Such  persons  must,  necessarily,  feel  that  they  are 
groping  in  darkness,  and  when  a  ray  of  light  does  flit  across  their 
medical  path,  it  only  serves  to  make  them  better  acquainted  with 
their  own  want  of  skill.  Persons  thus  circumstanced,  unable  to 
procure  the  services  of  a  good  veterinary  surgeon,  in  consequence 
of  a  scarcity  of  the  "  genuine  material,"  are  often  compelled  to 
assume  the  responsibility  and  risk  of  medical  attendant ;  and,  no 
doubt,  they  prescribe  with  good  intention  and  honesty  of  purpose, 
but  disease  and  death  has  the  vantage  of  them,  for  they  know  not 
the  modes  of  pathological  warfare,  nor  are  they  acquainted  with 
means  best  calculated  to  insure  a  favorable  issue;  and  they  will 
certainly  hail,  as  a  great  blessing,  any  and  every  effort  to  im- 
prove our  veterinary  literature,  and  thus  diffuse  knowledge  so 
sadly  needed. 

It  is  well  known  that  prior  to  the  introduction  of  a  rational 
system  of  veterinary  medicine  in  the  mother  country,  millions  of 
domestic  animals  were  annually  sacrificed  at  the  shrine  of  igno- 


PREFACE.  Vll 

ranee ;  but  science  came  to  the  rescue,  and  now  some  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  St.  Bel,  Coleman,  their  co-workers  and  kindred  spirits, 
can,  by  the  aid  of  their  vast  materia  medica,  their  anaesthetic 
agents,  scalpel,  etc.,  accomplish  unheard  of  wonders.  We  are 
now  working  to  dispel  the  awful  cloud  of  ignorance  and  super- 
stition which  has  too  long  lingered  around  the  stable  and  barn. 
We  aim  to  illuminate  the  dark  spots  that  have  existed  for  many 
hundreds  of  years,  and  to  obliterate  the  false  theories  that  have 
been  handed  down  to  us  by  the  Egyptians  and  Arabians,  and  the 
modern  jugglers  of  this  science. 

There  never  was  a  period  in  the  history  of  the  United  States 
when  the  services  of  educated  veterinarians  were  so  much  needed 
as  at  the  present  time ;  for  the  live  stock  of  this  country  do  not 
enjoy  immunity  from  those  pestiferous  epizootic  maladies  which 
have  formerly  operated  as  a  withering  simoom  on  the  enterprise 
of  British  husbandmen  in  the  breeding  and  raising  of  live  stock. 
For  example :  the  people  of  the  Western  States  complain  that  a 
disease  occasionally  makes  its  appearance  among  cattle,  to  which 
they  have  applied  the  name  of  "  trembles,"  or  "  milk  sickness," 
and  it  has  so  scourged  both  the  superior  and  inferior  orders  of 
creation,  that  the  former  have  often  abandoned  the  old  homestead, 
in  view  of  seeking  a  location  where  there  seemed  to  be  some  pros- 
pect of  enjoying  immunity  from  the  pestilential  scourge.  A  con- 
tagious and  infectious  disease  often  prevails  among  swine,  carry- 
ing them  off  by  hundreds  and  by  thousands,  yet  many  of  us  are  in 
the  dark  regarding  its  cause,  nature,  and  treatment.  Typhoid 
affections,  puerperal  fever,  apoplexy,  and  dropsy  of  the  brain  are 
just  as  prevalent  here  as  in  England.  Miscarriage  or  abortion  is 
fearfully  on  the  increase.  Diseases  of  climatic  origin  are  more 
rife  in  this  country  than  in  England.  This  is,  perhaps,  owing  to 
the  diversity  which  exists  in  the  climatic  temperature  of  our  vast 
territory,  and  to  our  various  faulty  modes  of  management.  In  fact, 
there  is  scarcely  any  disease  known  to  veterinarians  of  the  Old 
World  but  that  has  prevailed  in  the  New. 

We  must  have  reliable  text-books  and  educated  surgeons,  in 
order  to  understand  the  nature  and  treatment  of  the  diseases  in- 
cidental to  domestic  animals.  It  is  not  only  a  matter  of  national, 
but  of  individual,  policy  and  interest;  and  should  we  view  the 
mutter  with  the  eyes  of  business  men,  we  shall  see  that  such  en- 
terprise must  surely  pay. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

Persons  who  have  paid  any  attention  to  the  rise  and  progress 
<of  veterinary  science  in  this  country,  are  painfully  aware  of  its 
great  imperfections,  and  the  author's  object  in  preparing  this  work 
is  to  endeavor  to  lessen  and  remove  them,  by  giving  the  reader 
the  benefit  of  an  experience  which  extends  through  a  period  of 
twenty-five  years. 

In  view  of  furnishing  reliable  information,  and  of  showing  how 
little  of  medicine  is  required  for  the  treatment  of  various  forms 
of  disease,  a  number  of  cases,  recorded  in  the  author's  note-book, 
are  introduced  in  various  parts  of  the  work.  These  cases  may, 
perhaps,  also  give  the  unprejudiced  reader  juster  views  of  the 
relations  of  nature  and  art  to  diseases ;  for  it  is  a  notorious  fact 
that  very  many  well-instructed  persons  of  all  classes  have  hith- 
erto exercised  a  blind  faith  in  the  medical  art  for  the  cure  of  dis- 
ease, when  it  is  a  fact  well  known  to  those  who  practice  rational 
medicine  that  Nature  possesses  vastly  greater  powers  than  Art  in 
curing  diseases.  AYhat  is  here  meant  by  nature,  is  the  conserva- 
tive power  inherent  in  the  living  body.  For  a  better  understand- 
ing of  this  subject,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  works  of  Sir  John 
Forbes,  Oliver  W.  Holmes,  and  Professor  Bigelow. 

In  view  of  aiding  nature  in  the  cure  of  disease,  the  author  has 
introduced  to  the  reader's  attention  a  new  class  of  remedies,  viz. : 
Fluid  Extracts  of  a  sanative  character.  They  have  proved  more 
safe  and  efficacious  in  the  practice  of  rational  medicine  than  all 
the  other  heroic  arms  of  physic. 

These  remedies  have  been  carefully  tested  for  several  years  by 
the  author,  and  those  students  who  have,  from  time  to  time,  placed 
themselves  under  his  instruction,  and  the  result  has  been  very 
satisfactory ;  otherwise,  they  would  not  be  recommended  in  this 
work. 

Finally,  the  author  feels  it  due  to  himself  to  state  that  the 
almost  constant  occupation  of  his  time,  professionally,  has  given 
him  less  opportunity  than  he  desired  for  the  production  of  this 
work,  yet  he  entertains  a  hope  that  he  has  not  labored  in  vain ; 
and  thus  this  mite  is  cast  into  the  common  treasury  of  Veterinary 
Science. 

G.  H.  D. 


CONTENTS. 


SECTION  I.— The  Causes  of  Disease. 

(Page  19-89.) 

Remarks  on  Veterinary  Science,  and  the  Relation  it  bears  to  Social  Science—- 
Veterinary  Science;  how  to  inaugurate  it — What  Benefits  have  we  derived  froa 
its  Study — Inflammation;  its  Nature  and  Treatment 

SECTION  II.— Diseases  op  the  Eye. 

(Page  40-67.) 

Amaurosis,  or  Glass  Eye  (Gutta  Serena) — Foreign  bodies  within  the  Eyelids— 
Specks,  or  film  on  the  eye,  known  as  Opacity  of  the  Cornea — Cataract — Worm 
in  the  Eye — Ophthalmia — Treatment  of  Inflammation — Purulent  Ophthalmia — 
Speoific  Ophthalmia. 

SECTION  III. — Diseases  op  the  Brain  and  Nervous  System. 

(Page  58-85.) 

Abscess  within  the  Substance  of  the  Brain — Hydrocephalus,  or  Dropsy  of  the 
3/ain — Stomach  Staggers — Apoplexy,  or  Cerebral  Hemorrhage — Apoplexy  of 
Spine,  or  Spinal  Hemorrhage,  producing  Paraphlegia — Epilepsy,  or  Fits — Te- 
tanus— Vertigo — Acute  or  General  Disease  of  the  Brain,  known  as  Encephalitis — 
S'eepy  Staggers — Cerebral  Meningitis — Chorea,  or  Stringhalt. 


SECTION    IV. — Diseases  op  the  Respiratory  Passages   and 

Organs. 

(Page  86-186.) 

Importance  of  Ventilating  Stables — Brief  Exposition  and  Description  of  the 
Function  of  tbe  Lungs— Spasm  of  the  muscles  of  the  Glottis  and  Epiglottis — Lar- 
yngytis,  (suppurative  and  inflammatory) — Croup — Chronic  Cough — Roaring — 
Polypus  —Bronchocele — Influenza,  or  epizootic  catarrh — Pneumonia,  or  Inflam- 
mation of  the  Lungs,  including  Typhoid  Affections,  Pleurisy,  and  Dropsy  5f  tbe 
Chest. 

fix) 


X  CONTENTS 

SECTION  V.— Dentition  ane  Dim 

(Page  127-146.) 

The  Horse's  Age  as  shown  by  his  Teeth — On  the  Diet  of  Horses— The  effects  of 
various  kinds  of  Food — As  regards  the  quantity  of  Food  required — As  regard! 
ehanges  in  Diet — Conclusion. 

SECTION  VI.— Glanders  and  Fabot. 

(Page  147-159.) 

Glanders — Glanders  can  be  communicated  to  Man — Contagiousness  of  Gland- 
ers— Suspected  Glanders — How  came  the  Disease  to  be  called  Glanders  ? — Diag- 
nostic Symptom  of  Glanders — Treatment  of  Glanders — Farcy  (Disease  of  the 

Absorbents). 


SECTION  VII. — Diseases  of  the  Digestive  Organs. 

(Page  160-222.) 

Lampas — Spontaneous  Salivation — Bots — Inflammation  of  Stomach — Rupturt, 
of  Stomach  —  Gorged,  or  over-distended  Stomach  —  Meteorization  —  Flatulent 
Colic — Spasmodic  Colic — Inflammation  of  the  Peritoneum — Ascitis — Inflamma- 
tion of  the  Intestines — Strangulation  of  Intestines — Wounds  penetrating  the 
Abdominal  Cavity — Splenic  Apoplexy — Functional  Disease  of  the  Liver — Pan- 
areas;  its  Function — Parasites  which  affect  the  Intestines. 


SECTION  VIII. — Diseases  of  the  Urinary  Organs. 

(Page  223-237.) 

Inflammation  of  the  Kidneys — Inflammation  of  the  Bladder — Stone  in  the 
Bladder — Suppression  of  the  Urine — Retention  of  the  Urine — Diabetes,  or  Pro- 
fuse Stalling — Rupture  of  the  Bladder — Albuminous  Urine — Hematuria,  or 
Bloody  Urine. 

SECTION  IX.— Surgical  Operations. 

(Page  239-273.) 

Of  Surgical  Operations  and  the  various  Restraints  it  is  sometimes  necessary 
to  place  the  Horse  under  for-  their  performance — Casting — Slinging — Castra- 
tion—  French  method  of  Castration  —  Castration  by  Ligature  —  Lithotomy  — 
Traceotomy — OZsophagotomy-  -Neurotomy — Mode  of  Performing  Neurotomy  — 
Periosteotomy — Division  of  the  Flexor  Tendons — Amputations — Amputation  ot 
the  Penis — Amputation  of  the  Tail — Nicking — Firing — Blistering — Ammoniacal 
Blister — Rowelling — Setons — Abstraction  of  Blood,  or  Bleeding — Division  of  the 
Temporal  Artery — Bleeding  by  the  Palate— Bleeding  by  the  Toe— Phlebotomy- 
Bleeding  by  the  Jugular  Vein. 


CONTENTS  OF  EQUINE  DEPARTMENT.  X 

SECTION  X. — Diseases  op  the  Skin  and  Sub-tissues. 

(Page  274-301.) 

Itch  and  Mange — Lice  on  Animals — Grease  and  Scratches — Surfeit — Dropsical 
Limbs — Scarletina — Ringworm — Prurigo — Poll-evil— Fistulous  Withers — Warts 
»n  the  Skin — Purpura  Hemorrhagica — Out  of  condition — Hide-bound — Herpes. 

SECTION  XI. — Breeding,  and  the  Principles  of  the  same. 

(Page  302-318.) 

Breeding — The  Principles  of  Breeding — In-and-in  Breeding — Permanent  Va- 
rieties— Animals  become  Parents  too  early — Objections  to  In-and-in  Breeding 
answered— -The  Advantage  of  In-and-in  Breeding — The  Importance  of  Studying 
Anatomy  and  Physiology. 

SECTION  XII.— Lameness,  from  Various  Causes. 

(Page  319-385.) 

Curbs — Elbow  Tumor — Capped  Hock — Varix,  or  Bog  Spavin — Atrophy,  or 
Wasting  of  Muscles — Thorough-pin — Navicular  Disease,  or  Lameness — Pleuro-dy- 
nia — Acute  Rheumatism — Chronic  Rheumatism — Ring-bone — Splint — Spavin — 
Osteo  Poresis — Curvature  of  the  Spine — Hoof-bound — Laminitis — Sand-crack — 
Quarter  Crack — Navicular  Thritis — Stifle  Out — Contraction  of  the  Hoof— Bowed 
l*gs-    Corns — Lameness. 

SECTION  XIII.— Horse  Management,  etc. 

(Page  387-416.) 

Prolapsus  Ani — Hemorrhoids,  or  Piles — Pricking  and  Nicking  Horses'  Tails — 
Docking  Horses — Anaemia — The  Use  and  Abuse  of  the  Curry-comb — Horses  and 
Cattle  should  have  a  supply  of  Pure  Water — Galled  Back — The  Heart — The 
quantity  of  Blood  contained  in  a  Horse's  Body — Rapidity  of  the  Circulation — 
The  transfusion  of  Blood — Management  of  the  Horses  put  in  the  Stable — Stran- 
gles 


THEORY  AND  PRACTICE 


OF 


VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 


SECTION  I. 

ON    THE    CAUSES    OF    DISEASE. 

Ricmarks  on  Veterinary  Science,  and  the  Relation  it  bears  to  Sociai 
Science— Veterinary  Science;  how  to  Inaugurate  it— What  Benefit! 
have  we  derived  from  its  Study — Inflammation;  its  Nature  and  Treat- 
ment. 

ri^O  explain  the  cause  or  causes  of  disease  occurring  among 
domestic  animals  is  an  herculean  undertaking,  when  ex- 
pounded by  the  theory  and  faulty  logic  as  applied  to  the  ancient 
method  of  reasoning  on  "  false  facts  ; "  but,  thanks  to  the  genial 
spirit  of  progression  and  improvement,  we  are  enabled  to  throw 
some  light  on  the  subject.  We  have  been  taught  to  believe  that 
many  of  the  causes  of  disease  are  invisible  and  mysterious ;  but 
this  is  not  the  fact.  We  are  in  possession  of  evidence  going  to 
show,  very  conclusively,  that  the  causes  of  disease  may  be  classi- 
fied very  distinctly  and  intelligently  under  two  heads,  viz. :  Pre- 
disposing and  Exciting;  yet  this  classification  is  not  offered  by 
the  author  as  absolute,  but  is  a  more  convenient  arrangement 
than  any  other  to  study  the  multifarious  conditions  which  people 
believe  are  remotely  or  immediately  concerned  in  the  production 
of  disease.  For  example,  many  interesting  and  valuable  facts  are 
on  record,  going  to  show  that  the  peculiar  properties,  characters, 

and  qualities  of  the  parent — whether  good  or  bad,  healthy  or  dis~ 

(19) 


20  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

eased,  external  or  internal — are  transmitted  to  the  offspring;  or, 
in  common  phraseology,  are  predisposing  and  hereditary. 

"Among  horses  and  cattle,  we  find,  as  in  the  human  subject, 
ample  illustration  of  the  hereditary  tendency  of  external  form, 
disposition,  habit,  and  disease.  The  parent  transfers  to  its  off- 
spring size,  shape,  and  general  conformation  similar  to  its  own; 
and  the  aphorism,  'like  produces  like,'  is  as  applicable  to  faulty 
and  disproportioned  as  to  beautiful  and  symmetrical  form,  to  dis- 
eased and  debilitated  as  to  healthy  and  vigorous  constitution,  to 
gentle  and  tractable  as  to  fiery  and  indomitable  disposition.  The 
size,  weight,  general  appearance,  expression  of  countenance,  fleet- 
ness,  and  temper  of  the  horse  are  all  hereditary.  Many  illustra- 
tions might  be  given  of  particular  families  being  remarkable, 
during  several  generations,  for  good  or  bad  points,  as  for  well  o ) 
ill-formed  head ;  for  high  and  well-developed  or  for  low  and  wea  k 
withers;  for  fine,  strong,  and  well-turned,  or  for  coarse,  weaL, 
and  ill-formed  limbs.  Peculiarities  of  color  often  extend  through 
many  generations,  and  are  so  constant  in  their  transmission  as 
sometimes  to  form  one  of  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  a  rac<'. 
Indeed,  most  breeds  of  horses  have  a  prevailing  color,  to  whic'-i 
there  are  few  exceptions.  The  heavy  horses  of  Lincolnshire,  foe 
example,  are  generally  of  black;  the  Cleveland,  bay;  and  the 
wild  horses  of  the  plains  of  Eastern  Siberia,  dun.  Particular 
markings,  also — as  white  spots  on  various  parts  of  the  body,  sta:w 
and  blazes  on  the  face,  one  or  more  white  feet  or  legs — often  con- 
tinue for  many  generations,  and  are  peculiar  to  certain  families. 

"  There  are  some  maladies  in  which  it  is  comparatively  easy  to 
trace  the  connection  between  conformation  and  disease.  In  the 
horse,  certain  sorts  of  limbs  notoriously  predispose  to  certain  dis- 
eases. Thus,  bone  spavins  are  most  usually  seen  where  there  is 
a  disproportion  in  the  size  of  the  limb  above  and  below  the  hock ; 
curbs,  where  the  os  calcis  is  small  and  the  hock  straight;  strains 
of  the  tendons  of  the  fore-leg,  where  the  limb  is  round  and  the 
tendons  and  ligaments  confined  at  the  knee;  and  navicular  dis- 
ease, where  the  chest  is  narrow  and  the  toes  turned  out.  Among 
horses  so  formed,  these  diseases  are  unusually  common,  and  are 
developed  by  causes  which  would  be  quite  inadequate  to  produce 
them  in  animals  of  more  perfect  conformation.  But  it  appears  to 
us  that  internal  and  constitutional  hereditary  diseases  also  depend 
upon  the  altered  conformation  or  texture  of  the  parts  specially 


ON  THE  CAUSE?  OF  DISEASE.  2 1 

affected,  or  of  some  disturbance  of  the  relation  which  should  subsist 
between  the  different  constituents  of  these  parts.  This  abnormal 
state  of  the  internal  parts  is  seldom  within  the  limits  of  our  means 
of  observation  or  investigation ;  but  its  existing  in  animals  having 
an  hereditary  predisposition  to  disease  can  not,  we  think,  be  doubted, 
as  we  shall  now  endeavor  to  show.  The  ground  of  our  reasoning 
rests  chiefly  on  the  analogy  which  subsists,  in  all  respects,  between 
external  and  internal  parts.  The  same  law  which  regulates  the 
hereditary  transmission  of  form,  texture,  and  relation  of  external 
and  visible  parts,  also  operates  with  equal  force  in  regard  to  the 
form,  texture,  and  relations  betwixt  the  component  parts  of  inter- 
nal, and,  it  may  be,  inaccessible  to  ordinary  powers  of  investiga- 
tion. Then  if,  as  we  have  shown,  external  hereditary  diseases, 
such  as  lamenesses,  are  traceable  to  external  hereditary  peculiari- 
ties of  conformation,  we  do  not  think  it  pushing  our  analogy  too 
far  in  asserting  that,  in  like  manner,  internal  hereditary  diseases 
must,  in  great  part  at  least,  depend  upon  some  inherent  hereditary 
peculiarity  of  the  internal  parts  affected." 

The  common  disease  known  as  bone  spavin  is  inherent,  or  de- 
pendent on  predisposition,  as  related  above ;  for  the  author  never 
knew  a  horse  to  be  the  subject  of  this  malady  unless  he  had  faulty 
hocks;  or,  in  other  words,  in  so  far  as  the  conformation  of  the 
parts  were  concerned,  predisposition  was  evident.  The  same  re- 
marks apply  to  ringbone.  Either  the  pasterns  are  too  upright, 
thereby  causing  jar  and  concussion,  or  they  slant  unnaturally, 
and  the  consequence  is,  strain  of  the  ligamentary  structures,  end- 
ing often  in  ringbone  and  other  osseous  diseases. 

Ample  evidence  can  be  adduced  to  show  that  various  diseases 
of  the  eye  are  hereditary.  The  tendency  to  ophthalmia  shows  it- 
self in  a  peculiar  conformation  of  the  eye,  and  parts  in  the  vicinity 
of  it.  Periodical  ophthalmia  is  notoriously  hereditary,  and  usually 
ends  in  cataract. 

Colic,  also,  can  be  traced  to  inherent  tendencies;  for  animals 
subject  to  flatulent  colic  are  known  to  have  a  morbid  appetite; 
they  have,  also,  a  large,  roomy  abdomen,  which  gives  them  an 
ungainly  appearance.  Yet  it  is  true  that  diseases  may  occur 
accidentally,  without  the  intervention  of  predisposition ;  but  pre- 
disposition exists  in  almost  all  cases,  and  it  only  requires  soma 
anatomical  and  physiological  knowledge  on  the  part  of  husband- 
men to  detect  it. 


22  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

F.  Dun,  a  lecturer  in  the  Edinburgh  Veterinary  College,  tells  us 
that  diarrhea  and  colic  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  hereditary,  "  inas- 
much as  they  are  very  prone  to  attack  horses  of  particular  form 
and  constitution,  as  those  with  narrow  loins,  large  flat  sides,  and 
of  what  is  generally  termed  a  washy  appearance.  If  such  animala 
be  overworked,  (especially  soon  after  being  fed,)  if  their  food  be 
suddenly  changed,  or  if  they  be  allowed  an  unusual  quantity  of 
fluid,  they  are  almost  certain  to  be  attacked  either  by  purging  or 
colic.  The  tendency  to  these  diseases  appears,  in  such  cases,  to 
depend  on  a  want  of  adjustment  among  the  different  organs  of  the 
body ;  a  want  of  balance  among  the  different  functions  of  diges- 
tion, circulation,  and  respiration. 

"  Many  farm-horses,  as  well  as  others  without  much  breeding, 
are  remarkable  for  consuming  large  quantities  of  food,  for  soft 
and  flabby  muscular  systems,  and  for  round  limbs  containing  an 
unusual  proportion  of  cellular  tissue.  These  characters  are  no- 
toriously hereditary,  of  which  indubitable  evidence  is  afforded  by 
their  existence  in  many  different  individuals  of  the  same  stock, 
and  their  long  continuance,  even  under  the  b(  st  management  and 
most  efficient  systems  of  breeding.  Such  characters  indicate  pro- 
clivity to  certain  diseases,  as  swelled  legs,  weed,  and  grease.  If 
horses  of  this  description  stand  long,  the  circulation  of  the  blood 
through  the  limbs  is  retarded ;  for,  as  the  contraction  of  the  mus- 
cles which  materially  aid  circulation  are  wanting,  the  blood  in  the 
veins  rises  with  difficulty  against  its  own  gravity,  while  the  soft 
and  lax  condition  of  the  venous  coats,  and  of  the  muscles  in  coa- 
tact  with  them,  permits  the  passage  of  the  fluid  parts  of  the  blood, 
giving  rise  to  a  serous  effusion,  which  is  soft,  and  pits  on  pressure* 
This  anasarcous  condition,  although  troublesome,  and  frequently 
recurring,  is  easily  removed  by  friction,  exercise,  or  a  little  physic, 
and  does  not  unfit  the  animal  for  ordinary  work. 

"  But  the  same  conformation  and  constitution  which  induce  sim- 
ple swelled  legs  also  give  rise  to  the  more  serious  affection  known 
as  weed,  or  a  shot  of  grease.  This  consists  in  a  disturbance  of  the 
balance  which  naturally  subsists  between  the  waste  of  the  system 
and  the  supply  of  new  material  to  repair  that  waste.  Food  is  as- 
similated in  larger  quantity  than  the  wants  of  the  system  require ; 
the  chyle  so  formed  accumulates  in  the  absorbent  vessels  and 
glands,  which  become,  in  consequence,  irritated  and  inflamed. 
That  part  of  the  absorbent  system  situated  in  the  hinder  extremi- 


I 

ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE.  23 

ties  is  usually  the  principal  seat  of  the  disease.  The  animal  sud- 
denly becomes  lame;  the  inguinal  and  other  glands  in  the  groin 
become  enlarged  and  very  painful,  and  the  swelling  and  pain 
gradually  extend  downward  along  the  course  of  the  absorbents, 
while  the  limb  becomes  a  great  deal  larger  than  its  natural  size. 
There  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  good  deal  of  constitutional  fever, 
with  a  full  and  bounding  pulse.  The  swelling  of  the  leg  is,  in 
the  first  instance,  inflammatory,  being  hot  and  tender,  and  the 
ekin,  over  the  part  affected,  hard  and  tense.  Such  swellings  may, 
by  judicious  treatment,  be  removed ;  but,  in  cases  of  a  chronic 
character,  or  where  the  same  limb  has  been  previously  affected^ 
lymph  is  effused,  forming  hard  and  nodulous,  and  even  diffuse 
swellings,  which  often  cause  lameness,  by  interfering  with  the  mo- 
tions of  the  joints  or  tendons.  These  indurated  swellings  must 
be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  serous  effusions  above  noticed, 
which,  although  giving  the  animal  an  unsightly  appearance,  do 
not  materially  impair  his  usefulness. 

"  Grease  consists  in  a  morbid  condition  of  the  sebaceous  glands 
of  the  horse's  heels  and  fetlocks.  It  occurs  in  various  degrees  of 
intensity ;  sometimes  as  a  mere  scurfy  itchiness  of  the  skin  about 
the  fetlocks,  more  commonly  of  the  hind  extremities ;  sometimes 
attended  with  much  inflammation,  causing  great  heat,  pain,  and 
swelling,  and  an  ichorous  fetid  discharge ;  sometimes  causing  fall- 
ing off  of  the  hair  about  the  heels,  and  the  formation  of  deep 
cracks  and  fissures;  and  sometimes  becoming  so  violent  and  in- 
veterate as  to  cause  eversion  of  the  sebaceous  glands,  formation 
of  granulations,  and  secretion  of  ptis,  constituting  the  loathsome 
complaint  termed  the  grapes.  There  are  few  diseases  better  de- 
serving the  epithet  of  hereditary  than  grease,  and  few  in  which 
the  hereditary  nature  can  be  more  easily  discovered  and  traced. 
Almost  every  practitioner  can  bring  to  his  recollection  cases  show- 
ing the  tendency  of  this  disease  to  descend  from  parent  to  off- 
spring. A  friend  of  mine,  some  years  ago,  purchased  a  valuable 
four-year  old  entire  horse,  adapted  for  agricultural  purposes. 
When  bought,  he  appeared  perfectly  sound,  and  his  limbs  were 
nearly  black,  well-formed,  and  fine ;  within  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, they  became  thick  and  greasy.  And,  although  the  mares 
to  which  he  was  put  were  perfectly  free  from  such  faults,  the  prog- 
eny have  shown,  in  every  case  where  they  can  be  traced,  unmis- 
takable evidence  of  their  inheriting  the  greasy  diathesis  o^  '.heir 


24  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

sire.  They  have  all  been  found  liable  to  swelled  legs  when  they 
stand  idle  for  a  few  days;  most  of  them  have  been  the  subjects  of 
repeated  attacks  of  weed;  all  are  affected,  particularly  in  spring, 
with  scurfiness  of  the  skin  of  the  hind  extremities  and  excessive 
itchiness,  and  lose,  at  a  very  early  age,  their  flatness  and  smooth- 
ness of  limb.  The  faults  occur,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  in  all 
the  stock  of  this  horse,  by  many  different  mares,  and  are  dis- 
tinctly traceable  to  the  third  generation.  But,  although  grease 
is  undoubtedly  hereditary,  and  is,  therefore,  readily  induced  by 
comparatively  simple  causes,  still  it  is  frequently  caused,  and  is 
always  aggravated,  by  neglect  of  cleanliness ;  and  of  this  there  is 
ample  evidence  in  the  fact  that  it  is  most  common  in  foul  and 
badly-managed  ttables,  and  where  no  pains  are  taken  to  keep  the 
horses'  feet  and  legs  clean  and  dry." 

The  scrofulous  predisposition  is  very  marked  in  certain  breeds 
of  horses ;  it  occasions  rickets,  softening,  deformity,  and  various 
forms  of  disease  in  the  bones,  as,  for  example,  big  head,  big  jaw, 
etc.     The  same  author,  just  quoted,  says  in  reference  to  scrofula : 
"  From  their  weak  and  unsound  constitution,  horses  of  a  scrof- 
ulous diathesis  are  unusually  prone  to  glanders  and  farcy — two 
forms  of  a  disease  peculiar  (at  least  as  an  original  disease)  to  the 
equine  species.     As  has  been  already  remarked,  it  is  characterized 
by  a  specific  unhealthy  inflammation,  identical  in  all  important 
characteristics  with  the  syphilitic  inflammation  in  man.     From  the 
dire  and  loathsome  nature  of  glanders,  and  the  terror  in  which  it 
is  held,  animals  affected  by  it  are  never  used  for  breeding,  so  that 
we  have  little  opportunity  of  judging  of  its  hereditary  nature. 
There  is  no  evidence  (so  far  as  I  know)  which  proves  it  to  be  di- 
rectly hereditary,*  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  progeny  of  a 
glanderous  horse  would  exhibit  an  unusually  strong  tendency  to 
the  disease.     Its  ordinary  predisposing  causes  are,  many  of  them, 
hereditary ;  it  is  very  prone  to  attack  animals  of  a  weak  or  vitiated 
constitution.     It  is  emphatically  the  disease  which  cuts  :&  all 
horses  that  have  had   their   vital   energies   reduced   belcw  the 
healthy  standard,  either  by  inherent  or  acquired  causes.     Glan- 


*  "Though  I  am  not  aware  of  *ny  facts  proving  glanders  to  be  congenital,  yet 
I  think  there  is  every  probabili  y  that  such  is  the  case ;  for  it  is  notorious  that 
syphilis,  the  analagous  disease  in  the  human  subject,  is  congenital,  and  :>fteu 
appears  at  birth  in  the  children  of  women  affected  by  that  disease." 


ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE.  25 

ders  is,  atao,  sometimes  caused  by  inoculation;  is  frequently  pro- 
duced in  healthy  subjects  by  mismanagement,  as  by  insufficient 
food,  want  of  shelter,  and  overwork;  and  often  supervenes  on 
bad  attacks  of  influenza,  strangles,  diabetes,  and  other  diseases 
which  debilitate  the  system,  or  impair  the  integrity  of  any  of  its 
more  important  parts.  These  causes  appear  to  possess  the  power 
of  engendering  in  the  constitution  of  a  horse  a  peculiar  poison, 
which,  as  it  reproduces  itself,  and  spreads  to  all  parts  of  the  body, 
gives  rise  to  the  characteristic  symptoms  of  glanders,  causing, 
sooner  or  later,  a  breaking  up  of  the  system,  and  a  fatal  prostra- 
tion of  the  vital  powers.  This  poison  produces  in  the  blood  ab- 
normal changes,  which  vitiate  that  fluid,  and  unfit  it  for  healthy 
nutrition.*  From  the  irritant  action  of  the  morbid  fluids  passing 
through  them,  the  lymphatic  glands  and  vessels  become  inflamed, 
and  lymph  is  deposited.  This,  however,  being  of  an  unhealthy 
nature,  soon  runs  on  to  softening,  which  extends  to  the  skin  over- 
lying the  part,  and  ulcerating  farcy-buds  are  formed.  On  the 
surface  of  the  more  vascular  mucous  membranes  effusions  of  tu- 
bercular matter  are  also  poured  out;  these  take  on  an  unhealthy 
inflammation,  and  degenerate  into  chancrous  ulcers,  which  may 
generally  be  seen  on  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  nostrils  in  most 
bad  cases  of  glanders. 

"  These  are  the  most  common  scrofulous  diseases  of  horses ;  but 
an  animal  of  the  scrofulous  diathesis,  besides  being  specially  sub- 
ject to  these,  is  little  able  to  withstand  ordinary  morbific  causes, 
and  hence  is  also  unusually  liable  to  many  ordinary  diseases;  iu 
such  a  subject,  too,  disease  is  very  apt  to  be  severe  and  complicated, 
and  to  be  acted  on  tardily  and  imperfectly  by  all  remedies." 

Having  now  furnished  the  reader  with  a  few  valuable  facts 
bearing  on  hereditary  predisposition,  we  shall  briefly  discourse 


*  "A  comparison  of  the  iwo  subjoined  analyses  will  dhow  the  great  difference 
In  composition  between  the  blood  of  healthy  and  of  glanderous  horses — a  differ- 
ence consisting  chiefly  in  a  diminution  of  the  red  corpuscules,  and  a  propor- 
tional increase  of  the  fibrine  and  albumen. 

Blood  of  Healthy  Horse.  Flood  of  O'-acderom  Horse. 

A.  <t. 

Water 804.76 842 859 

Ribrine 2.41 R.#\  «. 8.7 

Blood  corpuscules 117.13 68  20 ..    44.2« 

*>' rliH  *680 82.27 

Albumen 67.86  l 

Soluble  sa'ts 6.82 -...      f.t' 5.38 

Simon's  Animal  Chr  •  ¥  ■  .    «r   D: .  !>a>,  vol.  1,  pp  34*-».~ 


2u  DADDS  VETERINARY  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE. 

in  reference  to  some  of  the  exciting  causes  which  in  general  pro- 
duce those  diseases  to  which  the  horse,  by  virtue  of  his  constitu- 
tion, is  liable.  The  following  quotation,  brief  and  pointed,  will 
be  found  pertinent : 

"  By  far  the  easiest  and  best  mode  of  curing  diseases  of  animals 
is  to  keep  the  diseases  and  the  cattle  separate.  With  cattle,  as 
with  ourselves,  disease  is  caused,  in  most  instances,  by  an  excess 
of  carefulness  or  of  carelessness.  Too  much  and  too  rich  food  is 
as  injurious  as  too  little  and  too  poor.  Perhaps  fewer  diseases, 
in  proportion  to  the  numbers  treated  in  each  way,  spring  from 
privation  than  from  surfeit.  Too  little  as  well  as  too  great 
exposure  to  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  has  a  tendency  to  create 
disease;  in  the  one  case  it  causes  disease,  in  the  other  it  renders 
man  or  animal  more  liable  to  it.  Let  a  wealthy  and  a  warm- 
hearted man  own  and  take  charge  of  a  favorite  animal,  and  the 
chances  are  that  it  will  be  '  killed  with  kindness ;'  if  it  is  tended, 
in  part,  by  a  hireling,  the  equilibrium  may  be  restored.  In  our 
experience — no  very  limited  one,  by  the  way — care  is  more  needed 
among  cattle  than  cures ;  and  all  the  diseases  which  came  under 
our  treatment  sprang  from  the  want  of  judicious  care.  Has  a 
cow  a  cough,  has  she  the  hoven,  has  she  the  red-water,  or  the 
puerperal  fever?  it  is  from  over  care — too  much  warmth  or  too 
much  feed.  Is  she  mangy,  lousy,  hide-bound,  or  affected  with 
horn-ail  ?  the  chances  are  that  she  has  been  neglected.  Of  course 
there  are  very  many  exceptions  to  this  and  to  every  other  general 
rule.  But  this  is  our  experience.  Let  few  farmers,  however, 
feed  their  animals  less  than  they  now  do,  or  give  them  more  airy 
lodgings  than  they  now  do,  because  the  greater  number  of  the 
cattle  in  this  country  suffer  from  privation  and  exposure  to  the 
inclemencies  of  the  weather  rather  than  from  pampering.  But 
animals,  as  well  as  men,  will,  with  the  best  care  we  can  bestow 
on  them,  become  sick  at  times.  Our  judgment  is  often  at  fault 
when  our  intentions  are  the  best.  Sometimes  our  back  is  turned, 
or  our  eyes  are  not  opened  sufficiently  wide.  At  all  events,  our 
r-tock  will  become  sick,  some  of  them ;  and  recourse  must  be  had 
to  medical  remedies." 

It  is  usual  to  classify  causes ;  yet,  for  all  practical  purposes,  it  is 
only  necessary  for  us  to  know  that  exciting  causes  are  those  from 
which  disease  most  directly  springs.  For  example,  suppose  that  in 
the  act  of  shoeing  a  horse  a  nail  is  driven  in  a  wrong  direction, 


ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE.  27 

euters  the  sensitive  tissues  of  the  foot,  and  lameness  occurs ;  the 
nail,  in  this  event,  may  be  classed  as  a  special  or  mechanical 
exciting  cause;  and,  under  the  same  head,  we  class  poisons  and 
injuries  of  all  sorts. 

When  horses  become  the  subjects  of  glanders,  or  farcy,  by  being 
exposed  to  the  maladies,  they  are  then  said  to  have  taken  it  either 
by  infection  or  contagion,  and  the  cause  is  said  to  be  specific. 
The  terms  infection  and  contagion  are  now  used  as  synonymous, 
and,  undoubtedly;  if  reference  be  had  to  the  etymology  of  the 
words,  the  arrangement  is  correct.  Coming  now  to  plain  matter 
of  fact,  the  exciting  cause  of  disease  is  that  which,  when  taken 
into  the  body,  or  applied  outwardly,  is  followed  by  disease  or 
derangement. 

The  exciting  causes  of  disease  may,  therefore,  be  summed  up 
thus :  Debility,  induced  by  bad  management,  exposure,  unwhole- 
some food;  plethora,  brought  on  by  over-feeding  and  want  of 
exercise;  overdosing  animals  with  improper  medicines  and 
poisons;  overtaxing  the  muscular  powers  of  the  animal,  and  the 
breathing  of  an  impure  atmosphere. 

A  great  proportion  of  the  diseases  occurring  among  horses  and 
cattle  in  the  Western  States  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they  are  not 
properly  housed  at  night,  and  the  food  that  they  often  gather  in 
their  exposed  situations  lacks  the  nitrogenous  and  nutritious 
matter  for  the  manufacture  of  good,  healthy  blood  and  strong 
muscles. 

Disease  sometimes,  however,  occurs  when  no  exciting  nor  any 
other  cause  appears;  yet,  with  the  exception  of  those  maladies 
supposed  to  be  produced  by  miasmatic  influences,  it  is  probable 
that  the  cause,  in  such  cases,  has  not  been  discovered.  Finally, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  causes  of  disease  among  animals  are  within 
their  bodies  as  well  as  around  and  about  them. 

Veterinary  Science,  and  the  relation  it  bears  to  Social  Science. — 
The  necessity  which  exists  for  the  services  of  educated  Veteri- 
nary Surgeons  throughout  the  United  States,  and  in  cavalry  regi- 
ments of  the  United  States  army,  is  evident  to  every  thinking 
man;  yet,  prior  to  the  advent  of  our  late  national  troubles,  it 
was  found  almost  impossible  to  interest  the  right  kind  of  men, 
so  that  thev  might  use  their  influence  for  the  purpose  of  direct- 
ing the  attention  of  the  General  Government  to  the  value  and 


28  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

importance  of  veterinary  science ;  but  the  probability  is  that  Con- 
gress will  soon  legislate  on  the  subject,  and  before  long  we  may 
expect  to  hear  of  the  appointment  of  a  Veterinary  Surgeon  and 
Assistant  Surgeon  to  each  cavalry  regiment. 

There  exists  no  earthly  reason  why  our  profession  should  not 
rank  as  high  in  America  as  in  England  and  France.  The  great 
losses  which  are  continually  occuring  among  army  horses  is  a 
monstrous  and  growing  evil,  and,  in  view  of  preventing  unneces- 
sary diseases  and  premature  deaths,  the  Government  must  organ- 
ize a  veterinary  corps. 

It  is  very  important  that  our  science  should  attract  the  notice 
of  legislators;  for  it  bears  a  very  intimate  relation  with  social 
science,  inasmuch  as  men  and  animals  are  subject  to  similiar 
diseases,  which  are  communicable  one  to  the  other,  and  which 
often  arise  spontaneously,  and  are  transmitted  from  first  to  second. 
For  example,  there  is  a  disease  which  often  occurs  among  cattle, 
known  as  "Anthrax."  It  is  a  malignant  disease,  and  many 
persons  have  lost  their  lives  by  absorbing  the  virulent  "  anthrax 
poisons  "  from  the  carcasses  of  dead  animals. 

A  cutaneous  disease  often  occurs  among  the  bovine  species, 
known  as  "ring-worm,"  which  affects  the  hands  and  arms  of 
some  persons  who  attend  such  animals. 

It  is  asserted,  also,  that  the  vesicular  murrain,  which  at  times 
prevails  among  cows,  gives  rise  to  the  development  of  a  virus 
which  is  often  squeezed  into  the  milk-pail,  and  produces  very  bad 
effects  on  children  when  fed  on  the  same. 

It  has  been  discovered  that  the  little  vesicles  found  in  measled 
pork  are  tape-worms,  in  a  certain  stage  of  development,  and  if 
not  destroyed  by  thoroughly  cooking  the  infected  meat,  may 
develop  the  dangerous  parasite  in  the  human  intestines. 

That  awful  disease  known. as  virulent  "glanders"  (spontaneous 
in  some  horses)  has  destroyed  many  of  our  race.  A  small  por- 
tion of  the  glandered  matter  coming  in  contact  with  an  abraded 
or  absorbing  spot  on  any  part  of  a  man's  body,  will  surely  cause 
him  to  die  the  most  horrible  of  all  deaths ;  and  the  same  remarks 
apply  to  the  disease  known  as  "  malignant  farcy." 

We  might  enumerate  many  other  forms  of  disease  which  are 
communicable  from  the  superior  orders  of  animality  to  the  in- 
ferior, and  vice  versa,  but  the  above  must  suffice,  in  view  of 
attracting  attention  to  the  value  and  importance  of  the  subject. 


ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE.  29 

m  regard  to  the  origin  of  diseases,  it  is  known  to  the  profession 
that  the  diseases  of  men  and  animals  are  often  due  to  similar 
causes ;  that  the  evils  of  .domestication,  which  operate  to  develop 
disease  in  animals,  are  as  notorious  as  the  evils  of  civilization, 
which  induces  unnecessary  diseases  and  premature  death  among 
members  of  the  human  family ;  therfore,  our  science  does  bear 
an  intimate  relation  to  social  science,  and  it  appears  to  us  that  no 
scientific  mind  can  fail  to  appreciate  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  a  more  extended  knowledge  of  the  fundamental  principles 
of  veterinary  science. 

Let  the  husbandmen  and  stock-raisers  of  this  country  put  their 
shoulders  to  the  wheel,  in  view  of  establishing  veterinary  schools 
and  colleges  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  immense 
agricultural  domain,  and  soon  we  can  boast  of  having  a  class  of 
veterinary  surgeons,  educated  on  American  soil,  conversant  with 
the  diseases  incidental  to  the  live  stock  of  America.  In  that  event, 
we  can  do  our  own  doctoring,  without  foreign  interference. 

We  are  not  disposed  to  find  fault,  nor  scold  about  the  itinerant 
veterinary  practice  which  prevails  throughout  the  United  States, 
for  we  are  aware  that  all  try  to  do  the  best  they  can  for  the  relief 
of  the  inferior  orders  of  creation.  The  fault  is  not  with  the  prac- 
titioners, but  with  the  people,  who  have  failed  to  furnish  the 
means  of  education. 

Resume. — Since  writing  the  above,  the  "  Trichina  "  disease  has 
made  its  appearance  in  Berlin,  creating  a  terrible  consternation 
among  the  consumers  of  pork.  The  disease  in  its  symptoms  some- 
what resembles  cholera,  but  on  making  post-mortem  examina- 
tions, there  was  soon  discovered  in  the  flesh  of  some  persons  an 
immense  number  of  small  microscopic  parasites ;  these  were  traced 
back  to  the  flesh  of  the  hog,  where  they  were  discovered  in  the 
form  of  chrysali  imbedded  in  a  little  shell  of  lime ;  these,  on  being 
subjected  to  a  slight  degree  of  heat,  speedily  brought  forth  myriads 
of  small  parasites,  of  various  forms  and  sizes,  a  dozen  of  which 
were  frequently  found  in  a  piece  of  tissue  as  large  as  a  pin's  head. 
The  process  of  incubation  was  discovered  to  have  been  produced 
in  the  intestines  of  those  who  had  eaten  the  pork,  by  the  animal 
warmth  of  the  stomach.  Thus  freed  from  their  shells,  the  creat- 
ures make  their  way  through  the  walls  of  the  intestines  in  every 
direction,  choosing  the  hard  and  fleshy  tissues  especially,  and  none 
of  them  have  yet  been  found  in  the  blood.     Most  remarkable  to 


30  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

relate,  the  "Trichina"  is  said  to  have  come  from  the  "field* 
mouse,"  which  the  hog,  by  eating,  introduces  into  his  system,  from 
whence  it  is  introduced  into  the  system  of  man.  A  few  years 
ago,  a  number  of  persons  in  London  were  very  seriously  affected 
with  vomiting  and  dysentery  after  partaking  of  sausages,  tlu 
meat  of  which  was  found  to  be  in  a  putrid  state.  Liebig,  the 
great  chemist,  informs  us  that  "  several  hundred  cases  are  known 
in  which  death  has  occurred  from  the  use  of  bad  sausages  in  a 
state  of  putrefaction."  This  kind  of  testimony  might  be  multi- 
plied to  an  indefinite  length,  but  what  has  been  written  must 
suffice.  The  reader  can  not  fail  to  perceive  that,  in  the  study  of 
comparative  anatomy  and  physiology,  a  wide  field  for  investiga- 
tion and  research  is  before  us,  which  will  amply  repay  the  devoted 
student,  and  be  the  means  of  accomplishing  much  good. 

Veterinary  Science — How  to  Inaugurate  it —  What  Benefits  have 
we  derived  from  its  Study  f — Shortly  after  the  commencement  cf 
our  late  national  struggle,  the  author  was  consulted  in  reference 
to  the  most  feasible  plan  of  inaugurating  Veterinary  Science,  so 
that  it  might  be  made  available  for  the  restoration  of  sick,  lame, 
and  otherwise  disabled  horses  in  the  Government  service,  which 
drew  forth  the  following  reply :  Up  to  the  present  period  there 
exists  no  law  authorizing  the  employment  of  regularly-educated 
veterinary  surgeons;  therefore  any  rational  plan  calculated  to 
ameliorate  the  condition  of  army  horses,  or  to  prevent  the  many 
unnecessary  cases  of  disease  and  premature  deaths  which  are  now 
constantly  occurring,  or  to  guard  against  the  great  pecuniary 
losses  which  the  Government  and  people  of  this  country  have 
been  compelled  to  submit  to  in  the  condemnation  and  forced  sales 
of  deteriorated  horses,  can  not,  as  I  understand  the  matter,  be 
considered  by  the  powers  that  be  until  Congress  shall  legislate 
upon  the  subject.  I  now  propose  to  inform  the  reader  how  to 
render  the  knowledge  we  possess  available. 

In  the  first  place,  I  should  follow  the  systems  of  instruction 
and  the  organizations  of  the  veterinary  schools  of  London,  Ed- 
inburgh, Alfort,  and  Saumur,  and  prepare  suitable  text-book* 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  a  nation  of  people  who  have  never  given 
the  subject  that  attention  which  its  importance  demands. 

In  the  selectior.  of  pupils,  I  favor  the  plan  of  General  McClellan, 
which  is  as  follows :  "  The  pupils  for  the  veterinary  school  might 


ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE.  31 

be  selected  from  among  the  best  recruits ;  indeed,  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  the  advantages  of  such  an  institution  would  induce 
excellent  men  to  enlist  for  the  purpose  of  availing  themselves  of 
its  benefits.  Should  such  be  found  to  be  the  results,  it  would  be 
well  to  require  them  to  enlist  for  longer  than  the  usual  time,  as  a 
compensation  for  the  time  spent  at  school/'  Cavalry  officers,, 
farriers,  or  blacksmiths  should  be  permitted  to  attend  lectures  on 
anatomy,  physiology,  and  the  obvious  diseases  and  lameness  of 
horses. 

In  cases  of  emergency,  a  competent  veterinarian  should  be 
employed,  in  each  regiment,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  select  an 
intelligent  farrier  from  each  company,  and  instruct  such  person, 
in  a  brief  and  practical  manner,  on  the  management  of  cavalry 
horses  in  camps,  the  prevention  of  diseases,  and  the  most  rational 
method  of  treating  diseases  incidental  to  camp  life. 

Should  it  be  found  impossible  to  secure  the  services  of  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  competent  veterinarians  for  the  above  purpose, 
let  those  who  have  shown  themselves  qualified,  by  an  examination 
before  a  medical  board,  march  from  camp  to  camp,  give  instruc- 
tions, see  that  the  sick  and  disabled  are  separated  from  healthy 
animals,  and  that  the  former  be  placed  in  a  covered  hospital,  and 
then  issue  special  regulations  for  the  use  of  mounted  troops  in 
garrison  and  in  the  field,  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  against  the 
consequences  of  ignorance  and  abuse  of  the  animal  machine. 

It  would  be  advisable  to  establish  a  veterinary  professorship  at 
West  Point,  and  there  locate  the  National  School.  The  Govern- 
ment has  there  a  very  fine  French  model  of  the  horse,  a  skeleton, 
and  various  preparations  of  morbid  anatomy,  etc.,  which,  together 
with  other  material  available,  will  furnish  all  that  is  necessary 
for  the  purposes  of  veterinary  tuition.  It  would  also  be  advis- 
able for  the  Chief  Veterinary  Surgeon  to  issue  to  his  subordinates 
such  orders  as  shall  secure  proper  sanitary  regulations  in  camp. 
The  horses  should  be  as  well  cared  for  as  the  troops,  for  in  cav- 
alry and  artillery  service,  the  success  of  a  campaign,  or  attack 
and  defense,  depends  much  on  the  health  and  efficiency  of  horses. 
It  should  be  the  business  of  some  members  of  the  veterinary 
corps  to  station  themselves  at  accessible  points,  and  there  erect 
temporary  hospitals  for  the  reception  of  sick  and  lame  horses, 
where  the  latter  shall  receive  the  benefits  of  a  rational  system  of 
medication  and  nursing,  whereby,  in  their  restoration  to  usefal- 


32  DADD'S  VETERINARY  SURGERY  AND  MEDICINE. 

ness,  many  millions  of  dollars  might  b*3  slaved  to  the  Government 
in  a  short  time.  I  contend  that  the  condemnation  and  ruinous 
sale  of  sick  and  lame  horses  is  a  wanton  waste  of  property,  and 
it  would  be  just  as  rational,  if  rational  at  al\  to  sacrifice,  neglect. 
or  abandon  sick  or  disabled  soldiers  simply  ..^cause  they  are  not 
in  fit  condition  for  present  duty. 

Importance  of  Veterinary  Education. — The  importance  cf  edu- 
cating men  for  the  scientific  practice  of  Veterinary  Medicine  and 
Surgery  is  self-evident,  and  is  further  illustrated  by  the  daily 
experience  of  those  persons  whom,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  hav* 
been  obliged  to  prescribe  for  the  sick  and  dying  of  their  flocks 
and  herds,  at  the  same  time,  having  no  knowledge  of  those  advant- 
ages which  a  thorough  course  of  training  affords,  must  necessarily 
feel  that  they  are  groping  in  comparative  darkness,  and  when  a 
ray  of  medical  light  does  flit  across  their  path,  it  often  serves  to 
make  them  better  acquainted  with  their  own  want  of  skill.  Per- 
sons thus  circumstanced,  unable  to  procure  the  services  of  veteri- 
nary surgeons,  in  consequence  of  a  scarcity  of  the  "genuine 
material,"  are  often  called  upon  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of 
medical  practitioners ;  and  they,  no  doubt,  prescribe  with  good 
intention  and  honesty  of  purpose,  but  disease  and  death  have  the 
vantage  of  them,  for  the  disease  is  not  often  rightly  diagnosed, 
nor  are  they  acquainted  with  the  means*  of  securing  a  favorable 
issue;  and  they  will  hail,  as  a  great  blessing,  every  attempt  made 
for  the  purpose  of  diffusing  a  knowledge  of  Veterinary  Science. 

We  all  know  that  there  is  greater  need  for  scientific  qualifica- 
tion on  the  part  of  those  who  propose  to  practice  on  brutes  than 
in  the  case  of  a  practitioner  of  human  medicine ;  and  if  a  special 
course  of  study  and  qualification,  obtained  under  the  guidance  of 
competent' teachers  at  college  or  elsewhere,  be  essentially  neces- 
sary in  the  one  case,  surely  they  can  not  be  dispensed  with  in  the 
other.  Now,  it  is  well  known  that  prior  to  the  introduction  of  a 
rational  system  of  veterinary  medicine  in  the  mother  countiy, 
millions  of  domestic  animals  were  annually  sacrificed  at  the 
shrine  of  ignorance;  but  science  came  to  the  rescue,  and  now  iho 
disciples  of  St.  Bel,  Coleman,  their  co-workers  (the  founders  cf 
the  science  in  England),  and  kindred  spirits,  can,  by  aid  of  their 
vast  materia  medica — their  anesthetic  agents,  their  scalpel,  and 
other  appliances — accomplish  unheard  of  wonders. 


ON  TTIE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE.  33 

The  Samaritans  of  our  craft  have  solved  tne  problems  on  which 
the  fundamental  principles  of  physiology  and  pathology  are 
Pounded ;  they  have,  to  a  certain  extent,  dispelled  the  awful  cloud 
of  ignorance  and  empiricism  which  had  reigned  in  the  British 
Isles.  They  have  succeeded  in  illuminating  the  dense  aud  dark 
spots  that  have  existed  in  horse  and  cattle  practice  since  the  ad- 
vent of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  up  to  that  period  which  introduced 
a  new  era  in  our  art.  They  have  done  more  than  this  :  our  crafts- 
men have  often  robbed  death  of  some  of  its  victims,  and  have 
succeeded  in  blunting  the  keen  edge  of  many  an  epizootic  sword ; 
and  thus  they  have  succeeded  in  stealing  a  march  on  the  grim 
monarch  of  epizootic  destiny.  Their  weapons  were  often  such  as 
were  wielded  by  Jenner,  the  benefactor  of  our  race.  Our  efforts 
may  not  always  be  successful,  but  as  our  veterinary  fathers  have 
accomplished  much,  we  ought  not  to  despair. 

The  field  of  enterprise  in  the  United  States  is  composed  of  vir- 
gin soil,  and  the  "  bridegroom  of  promise  "  hath  not  yet  put  on 
the  complete  mantle  of  fertility ;  so  that  there  is  a  splendid  chance 
for  the  teachers  and  graduates  of  American  schools  to  distinguish 
themselves  and  earn  the  laurel  of  fame. 

The  husbandmen  of  this  country  have  also  suffered  immense 
losses  bv  the  death  of  valuable  animals,  and  since  the  landing;  of 
the  Pilgrims  on  Plymouth  Rock,  up  to  this  very  moment,  death 
liath  run  riot  in  the  camping-ground  of  horses  and  cattle,  and 
people  have  scarcely  been  informed  of  the  "  why  or  wherefore." 
The  legion  host  of  "  itinerant "  practitioners  which  necessity  and 
circumstances  have  created,  remain  remarkably  silent  and  non- 
committal ;  and  probably  this  is  the  best  course  they  can  pursue, 
for,  if  "  ignorance  is  bliss,"  and  that  pays  well,  it  would  be  de- 
cidedly unbusiness-like  in  them  to  assume  wisdom  which  might 
not  pay. 

There  never  wTas  a  period  in  the  history  of  this  country  when 
the  services  of  educated  veterinary  surgeons  were  so  much  needed 
as  at  the  present  time.  The  live  stock  of  "  Young  America"  do 
nut  enjoy  immunity  from  those  pestiferous  epizootic  maladies 
which  have  in  former  years  operated  as  a  "withering  simoom  "  on 
British  husbandry.  For  example,  a  dreadful  malady  known  as 
pleuro-pneumonia  has  made  sad  havoc  among  live  stock  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  the  terrible  alarm  there  created  in  consequence,  is 
keenly  felt,  not  only  in  that  State,  but  in  many  others.  In  some 
3 


84  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

of  the  Western  States,  a  malady  known  as  '  milk-sickness,"  or 
trembles,  afflicting  both  man  and  beast,  sometimes  prevails,  at- 
tended with  such  disastrous  results  that  many  farmers  have  often 
been  compelled  to  abandon  the  old  homestead  in  view  of  seeking 
a  location  where  there  was  some  prospect  of  enjoying  immunity 
fj  run  the  pest. 

Hog  cholera,  or  pleuro-pneumonia,  (among  swin^)  has  >ften 
filain  its  millions  and  tens  of  millions.  Contagious  .yphus  pre 
vails,  and  puerperal  fever  has  carried  off  hundreds  cf  thousands 
of  our  best  stock.  Apoplexy,  softening  of  the  brain,  dropsy  of 
the  brain,  are  just  as  prevalent  here  as  in  England.  Abortion, 
or  miscarriage,  is  fearfully  on  the  increase.  Diseases  of  climate 
and  spontaneous  origin  are  constantly  occurring.  In  fact,  to 
shorten  a  lengthy  story,  there  is  scarcely  any  disease  known  to 
the  veterinarians  of  the  Old  World  that  has  not  prevailed  in  the 
New.  The  mere  mention  of  these  matters  should  at  once  arouse 
stock-owners  to  a  sense  of  duty  to  themselves  and  their  domestic 
animals. 

We  must  have  educated  veterinary  surgeons  for  the  treatment 
of  diseases  peculiar  to  the  live  stock  of  this  country.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  national  policy,  a  work  of  benevolence ;  and  should  we 
take  a  business  view  of  the  affair,  it  is  a  cent  and  dollar  enter- 
prise that  will  surely  pay. 

We  want  schools  and  colleges  in  this  country,  where  the  young 
men  of  America  can  acquire  a  republican  veterinary  education, 
so  that  in  the  era  before  us,  the  people  in  this  country  can  employ 
the  graduates  of  their  own  schools,  endowed  and  fostered  by  theii 
own  enterprise  and  industry.  Some  persons  have  an  idea  that 
veterinary  science  can  only  be  acquired  under  the  banner  of  loy- 
alty, but  this  is  a  great  mistake.  I  am  aware  that  the  people  of 
this  country  have  been  so  absorbed  in  promoting  its  growth  and 
developing  its  resources,  that  there  has  been  but  little  chance  for 
great  scientific  achievement  in  our  calling,  yet  within  the  past 
few  years  some  of  the  most  learned  of  our  profession,  educated 
under  the  auspices  of  royalty  and  aristocracy,  have  been  amazed 
at  the  contributions  to  science  furnished  by  a  few  devoted  men  in 
this  country  that  never  saw  the  inside  of  an  European  college. 

As  a  national  affair,  therefore,  it  should  be  the  pride  of  every 
American  citizen  to  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  for  the  purpose 
just  indicated,  for  the  enterprise  will  surely  redound  to  the  honor 


ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE.  35 

and  glory  of  the  nation.  The  science  which  we  are  laboring  to 
render  popular  is  vast  and  boundless  as  the  ocean ;  and  although 
it  has  been  explored  by  many  distinguished  scholars,  it  is  capable 
of  unfolding  new  truths,  and  when  the  united  intellect  of  intelli- 
gent Americans  shall  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  will  advance 
with  a  rapidity  truly  astonishing.  What  the  American  people 
have  accomplished,  during  the  past  few  years,  in  rendering  other 
sciences  popular,  is  proof  positive  of  what  shall  occur  when  the 
current  of  investigation  is  directed  to  the  science  of  veterinary 
medicine  and  physiology. 

In  the  absence  of  educated  veterinary  surgeons  throughout  the 
country,  it  is  of  vast  importance  that  stock-owners  generally 
should  study,  as  far  as  they  can,  the  diseases  to  which  their  prop- 
erty is  subject,  and  acquire  a  knowledge  of,  at  least,  the  ordinary 
remedies.  By  doing  so,  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  valuable 
horses,  cattle,  and  swine  may  be  annually  saved  to  the  country, 
and  the  intense  misery  which  these  poor  brutes  suffer  frequently 
be  relieved.  It  is  our  object  in  this  work  to  simplify  the  science 
bo  that  it  may  be  acquired,  to  a  very  useful  extent,  by  any  intel- 
ligent man.  If  we  shall  succeed  in  enabling  stock-owners  to 
practice  the  healing  art  on  their  dumb  but  faithful  companions, 
we  shall  feel  that  we  have  done  a  good  work. 

Inflammation  ;  Its  Nature  and  Treatment. — Inflammation  is  said 
to  consist  of  pain,  heat,  and  redness.  It  is  usually  considered  as 
an  enemy  to  the  patient ;  and  we  have  been  taught  to  subdue  it 
by  means  of  bleeding  and  purging,  at  all  hazards;  and  some 
practitioners,  when  they  undertake  the  job,  generally  succeed, 
yet  they  lose  the  patient  for  their  pains. 

Some  writers  have  made  inflammation  cut  up  all  manner  of 
pranks.  It  is  now  sanative  in  healing  a  wound  or  injury,  in 
repairing  damages  which  occur  in  various  parts  of  the  animil 
economy  ;  and  in  the  same  paragraph  the  writers  declare  that  in- 
flammation is  the  cause  of  nearly  all  the  deaths  that  occur.  This 
is  sheer  nonsense,  and  will  not  stand  the  test  of  logic,  nor  the 
daily  experience  of  that  practitioner  who  deals  in  fact,  and  does 
his  own  thinking,  independently  of  the  dictum  of  some,  of  the 
schools,  and  the  ancient  method  of  reasoning  on  false  facts.  A 
distinguished  medical  reformer,  writing  on  this  subject,  says? 
"  Numerous  hypotheses  or  opinions  respecting  the  true  nature  of 


38  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

inflammation  have  for  ages  been  advanced,  and,  for  a  time,  sus- 
tained j  but  even  at  the  present  day  the  various  doctrines  appeal 
to  be  considered  altogether  problematical." 

We  often  hear,  in  common  parlance,  that,  "  if  inflammation  seta 
in,  the  horse  will  die."  Now,  the  very  reverse  of  this  is  the  case  ; 
for,  while  inflammation  lasts,  there  is  strength,  vitality,  and  aug- 
mented action,  though  there  may  be  much  pain.  This  should  be 
interpreted  as  the  warning  voice  of  Nature,  to  apprise  us  of  a  loss 
of  equilibrium  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  or  some  deranged 
condition  of  the  system ;  and  we  should  heed  the  warning/  and 
array  ourselves  on  the  side  of  Nature,  in  view  of  promoting  a  full 
and  free  circulation  of  the  blood  over  the  system,  so  that  there 
shall  be  no  excess  anywhere ;  and  the  derangement,  wherever  it 
exists,  must  next  command  our  attention. 

While  inflammation  and  pain  exists,  there  is  hope.  Take,  for 
example,  inflammation  of  the  intestines.  While  that  stage  lasts, 
the  animal  is  not  in  danger ;  but  so  soon  as  inflammation  and 
pain  ceases,  (often  accomplished  through  the  means  of  bleeding 
and  narcotism,)  we  then  open  up  a  new  page  of  pathology.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  hours  the  animal  dies.  Of  what — inflamma- 
tion ?  No.  He  dies  of  mortification,  or  gangrene  of  the  bowels. 
Therefore  death  was  not  caused  by  inflammation. 

So  in  regard  to  phrenitis  (inflammation  of  the  brain).  A  cer- 
tain amount  of  pain  and  activity  in  the  parts  are  observable ;  the 
inflammation  may  now  be  attacked  after  the  true  Sangrado  fash- 
ion ;  the  inflammation  is  subdued,  but  still  the  animal  is  no  bet- 
ter. He  dies.  Of  what  does  he  die?  Not  of  inflammation,  for 
the  autopsy  reveals,  very  often,  softening  of  the  brain,  and  fluid 
is  found  within  the  lateral  ventricles.  Softening  of  the  brain  is 
equivalent  to  gangrene  (death  of  a  part).  Then,  again,  hors<2S 
cun  not  be  said  to  die  of  inflammation  when  the  practitioner  de- 
clares that  he  heroically  subdued  it  some  time  previous  to  the 
death  of  the  animal. 

There  is  no  proof  that  bleeding  has  any  directly  beneficial 
influence  over  the  course  of  inflammations,  either  external  ti  in- 
ternal. Surgeons  never  bleed  now  in  external  inflammation  ;  and 
educated  and  liberal  physicians  have  given  up  all  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  practice  for  internal  inflammation.  Good,  In  his 
"  Study  of  Medicine,"  seems  to  have  given  us  some  definite  in« 
formation  regarding  the  effect  of  blood-letting  in  inflammation, 


ON   TliE  CAUSES  OF   DISEASE.  37 

which  should  asree  with  the  sentiments  of  ail  men  desiring  to  see 
veterinary  science  joined  in  the  march  of  improvement  which  is 
now  progressing  in  almost  every  other  department  of  science  and 
industry.  "  The  immediate  effect  of  profuse  and  repeated  bleed- 
ing is  exhaustion.  While  this  exhaustion  continues  there  Is  a 
diminution  of  action  of  every  kind,  and  hence  an  imposing  ap- 
pearance of  relief  to  the  symptoms  of  disease ;  but  it  no  sooner 
bikes  place  than  an  instinctive  effort  is  made  by  the  vis  medica- 
trix  natura  to  remedy  the  evil  hereby  produced,  and  to  restore  the 
system  to  its  former  balance  of  power.  This  balance  is  called  a 
rallying,  or  reaction  of  the  living  principle.  The  arteries  con- 
tract to  adapt  themselves  to  the  measure  of  blood  that  remains ; 
the  sensorial  organ  is  roused  to  the  secretion  of  a  large  proportion 
of  nervous  power  to  supply  the  inordinate  drain  that  takes  place. 
During  the  general  commotion,  all  is  in  a  state  of  temporary 
hurry  and  urgency,  and,  for  the  most  part,  irregularity  of  action, 
while  the  instinctive  effort  is  proceeding.  And  hence,  no  sooner 
is  the  immediate  effect  of  prostration  and  exhaustion  overcome 
than  the  heart  palpitates,  the  pulse  beats  forcibly  with  a  jerking 
bound,  the  head  throbs,  and  the  eyes  flash  fire.  Now,  it  often  hap- 
pens that  these  concurrent  signs  are  mistaken  for  proofs  of  latent 
or  increased  vigor,  instead  of  being  proofs  of  accelerated  action ; 
and  action,  too,  that  adds  as  largely  to  the  exhaustion  as  the  de- 
pletion that  produced  it;  and  the  unhappy  patient  is  bled  a 
second,  a  third,  and  even  a  fourth  time,*  till  no  reaction  follows, 
at  which  time  it  is  strangely  supposed  that  the  plethora  or  inflam- 
matorv  diatheses  is  subdued  and  lulled  into  a  calm,  because  the 
patient  has  been  so  far  and  fatally  drained  of  the  living  principle 
that  there  is  no  longer  any  rallying  or  reactive  power  remaining, 
and  gives  up  the  ghost,  in  a  few  hours,  to  the  treatment  instead  of 
the  disease."  This  is  the  case  with  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  valuable  animals  that  annually  die  in  this  country,  in 

*  My  attention  was  recently  called  to  a  valuable  stallion,  which  had  lately 
been  brought,  from  Nova  Scotia.  He  was  attacked  with  what  the  attending 
would-be  physician  called  "founder,"  but  which  was  a  pure  case  of  acute  rheu- 
matism. In  three  different  bleedings,  forty-two  pounds  of  blood  had  been  ab- 
stracted! and  I  found  the  patient  so  weak  and  prostrated  that  he  was  scarcely 
able  to  stand.  It  seems  to  me  that  every  man  having  the  least  spark  of  charity 
for  so  noble  an  animal  as  a  horse,  should  discountenance  such  outrageous  treat- 
ment as  this. 


38  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

consequence  of  our  misguided  notions  of  inflammation,  and  our 
want  of  knowledge  of  a  suitable  remedy  to  treat  it.  But  a 
brighter  day  is  dawning,  and  the  antiquated  notions  of  disease 
and  its  treatment  are  fast  giving  way  to  a  more  rational  and  suc- 
cessful system ;  and  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  blood-letting 
for  the  cure  of  inflammation  will  be  entirely  abandoned. 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  the  author  to  be  able  to  record  that 
many  of  the  progressive  medical  writers  of  the  present  day  are 
on  the  right  side  of  Nature,  teaching  us  that  "  she  is  ever  busy, 
by  the  silent  operation  of  her  own  forces,  in  the  cure  of  disease ; " 
and  they  are  inaugurating  a  very  great  and  desirable  revolution 
in  the  theory  and  practice  of  human  as  well  as  veterinary  medi- 
cine. 

NaUre  of  Inflammation. — The  physical  characteristics  of  in- 
flammation are,  as  I  have  just  written,  redness,  heat,  pain,  and 
sometimes  swelling.  It  is,  and  always  was  physiologically,  oper- 
ating for  the  good  of  humanity  and  the  inferior  orders  of  creation. 
Its  curative  power  none  can  dispute.  We  see  it,  in  the  form  of  a 
blush,  on  the  cheek  of  offended  humanity.  Friction,  injuries, 
poisons  and  disease,  etc.,  excite  Nature  to  hoist  the  symbol  of  dis- 
tress—inflammation. She  calls  loudly  for  help,  but  she  does  not 
always  get  it ;  and  instead  of  acknowledging  her  autocracy,  and 
furnishing  what  she  wants  to  use  in  her  own  way,  viz. :  the  water, 
oil,  and  wine  of  the  ancient  Samaritans,  we  offer  fire,  knife,  and 
poison. 

Inflammation  being  an  exalted  condition  of  local  arterial  cir- 
culation, it  can  only  be  excited  by  some  mental  emotion,  injury, 
loss  of  function,  or  by  what  is  known  as  disease,  in  parts  adjacent 
or  remote  from  its  seat.  Hence,  all  diseases  of  an  acute  charac- 
ter are  preceded  and  accompanied,  to  a  certain  stage  or  period,  by 
inflammation.  Hence,  also,  according  to  ancient  usage  and  the 
dictum  of  alma  mater,  we  are  constrained  to  talk  and  write  as 
though  inflammation  was  the  great  evil  or  disease  which  requited 
our  services;  and  thus  we  coquette  with  Nature  by  means  of 
sharp-edged  tools,  while  the  actual  disease  steals  i  march  on  us, 
and  we  lose  the  patient  in  consequence  of  our  want  of  knowledge. 

Treatment  of  Inflammation. — Inflammation  bf  .  g  more  or  less 
active,  according  to  the  intensity  of  the  disease     £  which  it  is  a 


ON  THE  CAUSES  OF  DISEASE. 


39 


rorerunnei,  or  rather  an  indication,  and  being  accompanied  by 
pain,  it  becomes  onr  duty  merely  to  restore  the  equilibrium  of  the 
circulation.  This  removes  the  inflammation,  and  promotes  a  free 
and  full  circulation  of  the  blood  all  over  the  system,  so  that  there 
shall  be  no  excess  (inflammation)  anywhere.  This  is  what  we 
call  subduing  the  inflammation,  with  this  difference,  however, 
that  we  resort  to  natural  means  and  sanative  medication  instead 
:.jf  using  the  fleam  and  cathartics.  The  means  are  warmth,  moist- 
ure, stimulants,  and  friction;  and  clothing  to  the  extremities  and 
to  parts  of  the  body  that  are  cold ;  and  cold  applications  to  parts 
that  are  unnaturally  hot.  One  of  the  best  equalizers  of  the  cir- 
culation is  the  "  Roman  bath,"  the  vapor  bath,  and  wet  packing. 
Should  the  inflammation  exist  internally,  then  give  plenty  of 
tvarm  water,  emolient  drinks,  and  emolient  enemas,  and  keep  up 
a  physiological  action  and  heat  on  the  surface  of  the  body  by 
means  of  friction  and  warm  clothing.  In  this  simple  way  the 
circulation  of  the  blood  is  equalized,  or,  in  other  words,  the  in- 
flammation is  "  cured ; "  and,  at  the  same  time,  this  treatment  may 
cure  the  disease  as  well  as  the  inflammation. 


SECTION  II. 

DISEASES    OF    THE    EYE. 

/  maurosis,  or  Glass  Ete  (Gutta  Serena) — Foreign  Bodies  within  the  Eye- 
lids— Specks,  or  Film  on  the  Eye,  known  as  Opacity  of  the  Cornea — 
Cataract — Worm  in  the  Eye — Ophthalmia — Treatment  of  Inflammation — 
Purulent  Ophthalmia — Specific  Ophthalmia. 


Amaurosis  ("  Glass  Eye  " — Gutta  Serena.) 

AMAUROSIS  is  known  to  most  men  as  "  glass  eye."     Physi  • 
cians,  however,  have  named  the  disease  gutta  serena.     The 
abnormal  condition,  which  consists  in  dilatation  of  the  pupil,  un-    r 
influenced  by  light  or  darkness,  is  occasioned  by  paralysis  of  the 
optic  nerve  and  its  ultimate  expansion. 

Causes. — Some  horses,  of  an  excitable,  nervous  temperament, 
often  become  the  subjects  of  dilated  pupil,  without  any  assignable 
cause  ;  while  that  form  of  amaurosis  occurring  among  plethoric 
subjects,  or  those  whose  digestive  organs  a\-e  deranged  or  occupied 
by  a  large  quantity  of  undigested  food,  (they,  the  subjects  border- 
ing on  that  state  known  as  stomach  staggers,)  can  easily  be  ex- 
plained on  the  wTell-known  law  of  sympathy. 

We  may,  however,  with  propriety,  assign  a  cause  for  its  occur- 
rence in  the  eyes  of  nervous,  excitable  horses ;  for  this  very  con- 
dition of  the  nervous  system,  which  gives  rise  to  the  excitability, 
perhaps  goes  to  show  that  the  brain  is  actually  diseased,  either  iD 
function  or  structure.  Animals  subject  to  this  affection  are  gen- 
erally of  a  "bony,"  spare,  muscular  development,  and  have  wiry 
sinews,  thin  tapering  ears,  delicate  lips  and  nostrils,  diminution 
in  the  quantity  of  the  hair  in  the  mane  and  tail,  but  remarkable 
for  compactness  of  texture.  We  generally  find,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  the  black  color  preponderates  in  nervous  horses 
over  the  various  shades  of  equine  coloring- matter  found  in  the 
<40) 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EYE.  41 

hair,  eyes,  etc.  I  had  a  case  of  this  kind,  and  the  owner  s  state- 
ment was  as  follows :  The  animal  (mare)  had  been  in  his  posses- 
sion about  five  years.  She  had  four  successive  attacks  of  blindness, 
wnich  had  never  been  treated  by  a  certified  surgeon,  and  it  was 
concluded  that  she  must  have  a  periodical  attack  in  spite  of  all 
efforts  to  prevent  it.  Now,  this  is  what  we  call  a  case  of  idio- 
pathic periodical  amaurosis,  and  if  it  does  not  owe  its  origin  to 
some  hereditary  idiosyncracy,  it  is  the  result  of  an  abnormal  con- 
dition of  the  brain. 

When  our  attention  shall  be  called  to  a  case  of  this  character, 
we  must  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that  this  animal  survived  four 
periodical  attacks  of  the  same  malady,  and  performed  the  ordinary 
duties  of  a  horse,  in  the  intervals  of  health,  with  far-seeing  eyes, 
and  without  the  aid  of  science ;  and  this  goes  to  show  that  this 
condition  of  the  nervous  structure  of  the  eyes  of  some  horses,  as 
well  as  many  other  diseases  incidental  to  them,  are  often  "  self- 
limited,"  and  the  subjects  will  recover,  if  carefully  nursed  and 
left  unembarrassed  by  "poisonous  drugs."  This  opinion  is  in- 
dorsed by  some  of  the  most  distinguished  surgeons  of  the  present 
.day.  I  have  no  desire  to  try  to  saddle  the  reader  with  any  pecu- 
liar notions  of  medication  emanating  from  my  own  fancy  or 
brains.  I  am  not  offering  sensible  people  a  mirror  of  my  own 
reflection,  but  I  wish  to  present  the  truth  in  that  mirror,  so  that 
they  may  see  it  and  judge  for  themselves.  Excessive  medication 
is  a  quicksand  which  we  must  try  to  avoid.  Thousands  of  well- 
meaning  medical  aspirants  have  actually  committed  professional 
suicide  by  clinging  to  the  absurd  theory  of  medication  as  prac- 
ticed in  bygone  days.  The  lancet,  and  many  of  the  heroic  medi- 
cines which  our  predecessors  placed  great  confidence  in,  and  in 
their  writings  have  urged  us  to  use,  are  now  almost  discarded. 
It  is  not  because  an  essential  change  has  taken  place  in  the  nature 
of  equine  maladies,  but  because  we  have  greater  faith  in  Nature  at 
our  curative  agent,  and  have  become  better  acquainted  with  in  at- 
omy, pathology,  and  physiology. 

But  to  resume  the  subject  of  amaurosis.  If  from  the  history 
of  the  case,  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  of  a  periodical 
character,  and  if  it  be  the  sequel  to,  or  an  accompaniment  of, 
some  hereditary  affection,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  malady  will 
exist  for  a  certain  length  of  time  in  spite  of  all  we  may  do.  In 
such  cases,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  have  the  animal  comfortably 


12  DADD'S  VETERINARY   MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

housed,  fed  on  a  light,  laxative  diet,  and  pay  careful  attention  to 
the  condition  of  the  secretory  and  excretory  functions  of  the 
body. 

That  form  of  amaurosis  occasioned  by  a  deranged  condition  of 
the  digestive  organs,  plethora,  or  over-distension  of  the  same,  will 
cease  so  soon  as  the  cause  is  removed,  and  may  be  considered  as 
a  sympathetic  affection. 

What  that  cause  is  we  must  endeavor  to  decide  on  by  careful 
examination,  and  then  frame  our  plan  of  treatment  in  accordance 
with  the  indications  to  be  fulfilled. 

Should  we  consult  authorities  on  amaurosis,  we  shall  find  that 
much  diversity  of  opinion  exists.  Youatt,  who  is  quoted  in 
this  country  by  some  persons  as  high  authority,  has  mistaken  the 
disease,  or  else  has  strangely  distorted  facts.  He  contends  thwt 
"  the  treatment  of  amaurosis  is  quite  as  difficult  as  that  of  catir- 
ract."  Now,  every  one  knows  that  cataract  occurring  among 
horses  is  notoriously  incurable ;  and  Perctvall  writes,  "  A  man 
must  be  able  to  perform  miracles  ere  he  cures  cataract." 

Now,  I  contend  that  amaurosis,  or  dilatation  of  the  pupil,  is  nrt 
of  itself  a  disease,  but  the  symptom  of  one;  hence,  between  cata- 
ract— -a  disease  resulting  from  altered  structure  of  the  eye — and 
amaurosis  there  exists  no  analogy.  Whenever  altered  structure 
exists  in  the  mechanism  of  the  eye,  then  we  have  an  incurable  cas  t. 

Mr.  Spooxer,  the  reviser  of  Youatt's  work  on  the  horse,  as- 
sures us  that  amaurosis  is  often  connected  with  diseased  liver, 
thus  controverting  Youatt's  theory  of  incurability ;  for  animals 
often  recover  from  very  severe  attacks  of  liver  disease. 

I  have  called  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  opinions  oi 
Youatt,  Percivall,  and  Spooner  merely  to  show  the  import- 
ance of  exercising  our  own  reasoning  faculties.  We  must  not 
place  too  much  confidence  in  mere  book  authority,  no  matter  how 
'high  the  source,  unless  experience  and  intelligence  indorses  the 
theory  or  facts  in  the  case. 

£■[  jculative  and  false  theories  are  only  surface  deep.  They  need 
n-  t  t  ae  eye  of  the  philosopher,  nor  the  mental  genius  of  a  Web- 
ster,  in  order  to  discover  their  flimsy  texture  and  develop  the 
truth.  Those  who  propose  to  do  their  own  thinking  have  the 
ability  to  judge  between  right  and  wrong.  Let  us  commit  ro 
memory  all  matters  which  appear  as  facts,  and  forget  the  rest. 

Amaurosis  can  be  artificially  produced  by  administering  a  few 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EYE.  43 

doses  of  extract  of  belladonna,  and  this  amaurotic  state  of  the 
pupil  is  also  observed  during  etherization,  and  disappears  so  soou 
as  the  animal  is  restored  to  consciousness. 

Percivall  informs  us  that  amaurosis  may  proceed  from  some 
abnormal  condition  of  the  optic  nerve  or  brain,  which  may  prove, 
as  he  says,  the  last  link  of  a  series  of  marked  phenomena,  origi 
nating  in  some  remote  part  of  the  body,  operating  sympathetically 
on  the  nervous  system,  and,  through  it,  extending  to  the  eye. 
Cases  are  occasionally  met  with  which  may  be  termed  symptomatic 
amaurosis,  occasioned  by  congestion,  tumors,  or  hydrocephalus. 

Symtomatic  amaurosis  may  follow  cranial  fracture,  and,  con- 
sequently, depression.  In  such  cases,  the  skill  of  the  surgeon  is 
3alled  into  requisition  to  trephine  the  uninjured  region  of  the 
skull,  in  order  to  elevate  the  depressed  and  fractured  parts.  The 
potent  remedy  is  the  removal  of  the  pressure.  Amaurosis  is  oc- 
casionally associated  with  anaemia.  Now,  anaemia  is  a  condition 
of  the  body  which  indicates  a  loss  of  the  circulating  fluid,  either 
of  quantity  or  quality.  The  remedy  for  this  condition  is  carbo- 
naceous food,  mineral  and  vegetable  tonics.  Preparations  of  iron 
and  golden  seal  are  the  best  remedial  agents. 

Symptoms. — I  shall  now  turn  the  reader's  attention,  for  a  mo- 
ment, to  some  of  the  symptoms  attending  the  amaurotic  condition. 
The  head  of  the  patient  is  elevated,  and  he  is  known,  in  popular 
language,  as  a  "  star-gazer."  His  ears  are  kept  in  constant  mo- 
tion, one  turned  backward  and  the  other  forward,  in  quick  suc- 
cession, to  catch  the  sound  of  approaching  vehicles,  so  that  he 
may  have  timely  notice  of  their  whereabouts.  When  started, 
and  while  walking,  the  fore-feet  are  raised  from  the  ground  to  an 
unnecessary  height.  This  is  probably  done  for  the  purpose  of 
sounding  the  ground,  and,  at  the  same  time,  of  avoiding  obstacles 
which  may  lie  in  the  road  j  for  the  sight  is  defective,  and  the 
animal  must  depend  more  on  the  senses  of  hearing  and  feeling. 

Should  such  an  animal  be  attached  to  a  vehicle  and  left  alone 
in  the  street,  we  shall  observe  that  when  an  omnibus  or  heavy- 
loaded  wagon  approaches  him  he  becomes  restless,  and  exhibits 
signs  of  fear.  Such  are  the  principal  symptoms  which  usually 
accompany  defective  sight,  or  total  paralysis  of  the  optic  nerve, 
producing  amaurosis. 

Treatment. — Sympathetic  amaurosis  should  be  treated  by  means 
of  antispasmodics  and  alteratives.     One  ounce  of  tincture  of  assa- 


44  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

fetida  may  be  given  every  morning,  and  in  the  evening,  oue  ounce 
of  the  fluid  extract  of  sassafras.  So  soon  as  the  animal  regains 
nis  natural  vision,  the  medicine  may  be  discontinued. 

Foreign  Bodies  within  the  Eyelids. 

When  foreign  bodies,  such  as  small  particles  of  hay  or  dirt,  get 
within  the  eyelids,  they  create  great  pain  and  uneasiness,  and  if 
allowed  to  remain  there,  produce  a  very  grave  form  of  disease, 
often  ending  in  disorganization  and  total  blindness.  Should  any 
thing  of  the  kind  be  discovered,  it  may  be  removed  by  raising 
the  upper  or  depressing  the  lower  lids ;  then  introduce  and  ex- 
plore the  eyeball  by  means  of  a  camel's  hair  pencil,  to  which  the 
foreign  body  will  usually  adhere,  when  it  is  easily  brought  away. 
The  parts  should  then  be  sponged  with  lukewarm  water.  After 
the  lapse  of  a  few  hours,  should  the  membranes  of  the  eye  and 
lids  appear  much  reddened,  use  the  following : 

No.  1.  Rose  water 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  gelseminum 2  dr. 

Put  the  patient  on  a  diet  of  sloppy  bran  mash,  and  place  him 
where  the  rays  of  sunlight  shall  not  affect  the  eye. 

Films  or  Specks  on  the  Eye,  known  as  Opacity 

of  the  Cornea. 

Opacity  of  the  cornea  sometimes  results  from  injuries;  at  others 
they  are  symptomatic,  and  accompany  other  diseases.  They  are 
of  very  common  occurrence  in  the  various  stages  of  influenza  and 
other  catarrhal  affections,  and  sometimes  a  distinct  speck  will 
remain  long  after  the  disease  which  gave  rise  to  it  has  disappeared. 
The  author  remembers  many  cases  in  which  the  sight  has  been 
completely  destroyed  by  using  substances  of  a  corrosive  or  stimu- 
lating character.  The  proper  mode  of  treatment  is  to  bathe  the 
eye  occasionally  with  a  portion  of  the  following  lotion: 

No.  2    Fluid  extract  of  bloodroot 1  oz. 

Water 8  oz. 

Mix. 

Give  the  patient  one  ounce,  morning  and  evening,  of  fluid 

extract    of  phytolacca  decandra  (poke-root).     This  acts  as   an 

alterative,  and  will  expedite  the  cure. 


diseases  of  the  eye.  45 

Cataract. 

Cataract  in  the  horse  is  usually  the  result  of  previous  attacks 
of  disease.  It  consists  of  opacity  of  the  crystalline  lens,  or  the 
capsule  of  the  same.  The  disease  is  incurable,  because  if  an  opera' 
tion  was  performed  for  the  breaking-up  or  depression  of  th\ 
cataract,  such  as  is  practiced  in  human  medicine,  vision  would 
still  be  as  imperfect  as  ever  without  the  aid  of  magnifying  glasses, 
which  would  be  a  great  inconvenience  to  the  horse,  and  scarcely 
of  any  practical  service. 

Woem  IN  THE  Eye. 

Small  parasites  are  occasionally  observed  in  the  eyes  of  horses. 
They  float  about  in  the  watery  humor,  often  for  a  great  length  of 
time,  without  appearing  to  do  any  mischief;  yet,  being  a  foreign 
body,  they  are,  to  say  the  least,  injurious.  The  author  has  never 
seen  but  one  case  of  worm  in  the  eye,  and  that  occurred  in  a 
horse,  the  property  of  a  resident  of  Chicago.  The  animal  was 
k  ept  on  exhibition  for  the  inspection  of  the  curious,  and  was  the 
source  of  considerable  profit  to  the  owner.  It  is  possible  that 
such  worm  might  be  extracted  by  a  surgical  operation.  A  writei 
in  the  "Veterinary  Review"  thus  alludes  to  this  affection : 

"  It  may  also  be  here  noticed  that  there  is  a  disease  which  fre- 
quently affects  the  eyes  of  horses  in  India,  but  which,  as  far  as  I 
know,  has  never  been  observed  in  Europe.  A  worm,  which,  from 
the  description  I  have  received  from  different  people,  may  be 
ojmpared  to  the  common  ascaris,  is  generated  in  the  anterior 
chamber,  and  can  at  times  be  distinguished  swimming  about,  with 
apparently  great  vigor,  in  the  aqueous  humor.  It  produces  a 
great  deal  of  irritation  and  inflammation,  the  effects  of  whicl 
ultimately  destroy  the  organ.  The  natives  of  India  cure  the 
disease  by  making  an  incision  through  the  cornea,  and  extracting 
the  worm.  Though  I  have  never  had  an  opportunity  of  examin- 
ing an  eye  affected  with  this  curious  disease,  the  circumstantial 
accounts,  from  several  accurate  observers,  leave  no  doubt  in  my 
mind  of  its  existence ;  and  the  fact  accords  with  what  is  known 
to  take  place  regarding  the  formation  of  worms,  not  only  in  the 
human  body,  but  more  particularly  in  the  liver,  lungs,  brain,  and 
other  orgars  jf  the  inferior  animals." 


46  dadd's  veteb.inary  medicine  and  surgery. 

Ophthalmia,  or  Inflammation  of,  the  Eye, 

(Sometimes  called  "Hooks.") 

This  is  a  very  common  affection,  yet  a  most  painful  one,  an. 
ean  not  well  be  mistaken.  The  animal  keeps  the  eyelids  closed. 
Tney  are  more  or  less  swollen,  and  the  internal  surface  of  the  same 
appears  very  red.  There  is  an  unnatural  flow  of  teara  running 
down  the  cheeks.  The  haw,  or  nictitating  membrane,  is  swollen 
and  very  vascular.  This  condition  of  the  haw  is  known  to  some 
persons  as  the  hooks,  and  serves  as  an  excuse  for  the  performance 
of  a  barbarous  operation,  not  sanctioned  by  science  or  common 
sense,  viz. :  amputation  of  the  haw,  which  only  aggravates  the 
disease,  and  deprives  the  horse  of  a  useful  appendage  to  the  organs 
of  vision. 

In  the  early  stage  of  this  disease,  and  when  scalding  tears  run 
copiously  over  the  cheeks,  we  denominate  it  catarrhal  ophthalmia. 
The  disease  is  not  of  a  very  serious  nature,  but  often  becomes  so 
in  consequence  of  the  outrageous  treatment  practiced,  such  as 
bleeding,  purging,  and  the  local  application  of  lunar  caustic. 
The  proper  mode  of  treatment  is  to  keep  the  patient  on  a  light 
diet,  and  occasionally  bathe  the  region  of  the  eye  with  an  infusion 
of  poppies  or  hops ;  sometimes  with  tepid  or  cold  water,  as  the  ca?e 
may  seem  to  indicate,  according  to  the  rational  judgment  of  the 
owner  of  the  afflicted  animal.  It  is  the  very  best  application  ths  t 
can  be  made,  and  is  much  more  scientific,  according  to  the  dictum 
of  the  God  of  Nature,  than  many  of  the  agents  heretofore  used. 
The  fact  is,  many  indications  of  disease  designated  as  inflamma- 
tion are  curable  only  through  the  intervention  of  time  and  a 
rational  expectancy.  Don't  do  any  violence  to  nature  in  the 
use  of  destructive  or  poisonous  agents,  and  should  the  case  b« 
curable,  it  will  terminate  favorably  under  this  treatment.  Ac- 
cording to  the  dictum  of  the  schools  of  veterinary  medicine, 
inflammation  of  the  eye,  as  well  as  inflammatory  action  of  other 
parts  of  the  body,  has  to  be  treated  heroically,  which  system  of 
treatment  kills  more  than  it  ever  cures.  As  the  subject  of  inflam- 
mation is  a  very  important  one,  worthy  the  attention  and  con- 
sideration of  American  husbandmen,  I  here  introduce  an  artick 
from  the  pen  of  A.  S.  Copeman,  who  was  formerly  associated 
with  me  in  conducting  the  "Veterinary  Institute  of  Boston," 
Massachusetts : 


DISEASES   OF   THE    EYE.  47 


Treatment  of  Inflammation. 

"  It  must  be  admitted  by  all  who  contemplate  the  actual  state 
of  medical  practice  at  the  present  day,  that  the  use  of  blood-let- 
ting and  of  other  antiphlogistic  remedies,  has,  within  a  recent 
period,  greatly  declined.  According  to  Youatt  and  Percivall, 
mh  h  remedies,  and  more  especially  blood-letting,  were  formerly 
l-ighly  successful  in  arresting  diseases,  in  the  treatment  of  which 
we  n3w  know  they  not  only  fail,  but  are  even  highly  injurious. 
The  inference  has  been  drawn  from  these  supposed  facts,  that  in- 
flammation itself  is  no  longer  the  same ;  that  its  type  has  altered 
from  an  inflammatory  to  a  typhoid  character.  In  short,  it  seems 
to  have  been  the  opinion  of  certain  writers  that  an  advanced 
knowledge  of  physiology  and  pathology  has  had  little  influence 
in  producing  this  great  revolution  in  our  treatment,  but  that  the 
constitutions  of  animals  are  fundamentally  altered,  and  that  medi- 
cal men  were  as  right  in  bleeding  thirty  years  ago  as  they  are 
correct  in  now  abstaining  from  it.  In  opposition  to  these  views, 
it  will  be  my  endeavor  to  show,  1st,  That  little  reliance  can  be 
]  'laced  on  the  experience  of  those  who,  like  Blain,  Percivall, 
and  Youatt,  were  unacquainted  with  both  histology  and  organic 
chemistry,  and,  per  consequence,  the  nature  of  inflammations ; 
id,  That  inflammation  is  the  same  now  as  it  has  ever  been ;  3d, 
That  the  principles  on  which  blood-letting  and  antiphlogistic 
remedies  have  hitherto  been  practiced  are  fallacious,  and  opposed 
ito  pathology;  4th,  That  an  inflammation  once  established  can 
not  be  cut  short,  and  that  the  object  of  judicious  medical  practice 
is  to  conduct  it  to  a  favorable  termination ;  5th,  That  all  positive 
knowledge  of  the  experience  of  the  past,  as  well  as  the  more  ex- 
act observations  of  the  present  day,  alike  establish  the  truth  of 
the  preceding  propositions  as  guides  for  the  future. 

1st  Proposition. — That  little  reliance  can  be  placed  on  the  ex- 
perience of  those  who,  like  Blain,  Percivall,  and  Youatt,  were 
unacquainted  with  histology,  and,  per  consequence,  the  nature  of 
inflammations. 

Inflammation,  for  many  years,  was  generally  recognized,  espe- 
cially in  external  parts,  by  the  existence  of  pain,  heat,  redness, 
and  swelling,  and  in  internal  parts  by  fever,  accompanied  by 
pain  and  impeded  function  of  the  organ  affected.  In  fact,  groups 
of  symptoms,  in  accordance  with  the  nosological  systems  of  the  day. 


48  DADD'S  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

eonsti  j.ed  inflammation.  But  the  school  of  morbid  anatomy, 
by  showing  that  inflammation  was  a  diseased  condition  of  a  part, 
entirely  overthrew  the  errors  and  confusion  inherent  in  all  such 
nosological  systems ;  while  more  recent  histological  research,  by 
exhibiting  to  us  that  inflammation  is,  in  truth,  a  disease  of  nutri- 
*  lion,  governed  by  the  same  laws  that  determine  growth  and  waste 
of  the  tissues,  has  united  physiology  and  pathology  into  our 
science,  and  has  removed  our  present  knowledge  still  further  from 
the  traditional  errors  of  the  past.  Now,  if  it  could  be  shown  that 
the  group  of  symptoms  formerly  called  inflammation  always  in- 
duced the  same  morbid  lesions,  former  experience  might  still  be 
useful  to  us.  But  we  contend  that  this  is  what  clinical  observa- 
tion proves  to  be  impossible.  Such  are  the  contradictory  state- 
ments and  the  confusion  resulting  from  the  un  acquaintance  of  the 
past  race  of  practitioners  with  a  correct  diagnosis  and  pathology, 
lhat  no  confidence  whatever  can  be  placed  in  their  impressions 
as  to  what  cases  were  benefited  by  bleeding.  Medicine  is  not  a 
scientific  art,  which  is  dependent  for  its  principles  on  the  study 
of  a  commentary  on  the  older  writers.  What  they  thought  and 
what  they  said  are  not,  and  ought  not,  in  a  question  of  this  kind, 
ft)  be  our  guide  as  to  what  was  or  is.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  the 
book  of  Nature,  which  is  open  to  all,  that  we  ought  to  study ;  and 
why  should  we  read  it  through  the  eyes  of  past  sages,  when  the 
light  uf  science  was  comparatively  feeble  and  imperfect,  instead 
of  bringing  all  our  improved  modern  appliances  and  advanced 
knowledge  to  elucidate  her  meaning  ? 

2d  Prop. —  That  inflammation  is  the  same  note  as  it  has  ever 
been. 

The  essential  nature  of  inflammation  has  been  already  alluded 
to,  viz. :  a  series  of  changes  in  the  function  of  a  part,  terminating 
in  exudation  or  effusion  of  lymph.  Now,  what  proof  is  there 
that  any  of  these  necessary  changes  have,  of  late  years,  undergone 
any  modification?  If  a  healthy  animal  receives  a  blow,  or  any 
other  injury,  are  the  resulting  phenomena,  in  these  days,  in  any 
way  different  from  those  which  took  place  in  the  days  of  Youati 
and  Percivall?  Were  the  effects  which  followed  wounds  in 
1830  different  from  those  which  resulted  from  similar  injuries  in 
1860?  This  has  not  yet  been  shown.  Again :  if  a  healthy  horse, 
nowadays,  be  exposed  to  wet  and  cold,  and  be  seized  with  an 
inflammation  of  the  lung  or  pleura,  is  not  the  lung  hepatized  in 


DISEASES   OF   THE   EYE.  49 

the  one  case?  and  does  not  effusion  follow  in  the  other,  in  exactly 
the  same  way  as  formerly  ?  But  what  should  this  asserted  change 
in  tne  nature  and  character  of  inflammation  lead  us  to  infer '?  It 
is  said  that  inflammation  and  its  results  are  entirely  changed 
within  the  last  thirty  years.  It  is,  then,  argued  that  horses,  in  iii 
parts  of  the  world,  since  the  days  of  Blain,  Youatt,  and  Per- 
crvALL,  have  become  so  debilitated  and  deteriorated ;  that  their 
constitutions  have  been  so  altered  for  the  worse;  that,  attacked 
by  the  same  lesion,  and  to  the  same  extent,  there  is  no  longer  the 
same  reaction.     If  so,  where  is  the  evidence  of  this  ? 

For  my.  own  part,  I  have  earnestly  sought  for  but  can  not  dis- 
cover a  shadow  of  evidence  for  such  a  belief.  Moreover,  I  have 
a  most  lively  remembrance  of  all  the  facts  and  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  bleeding  of  hundreds  of  patients,  thirty  years  ago, 
when  I  first  commenced  the  study  of  veterinary  medicine,  and  my 
impression  is,  that  not  the  slightest  difference  exists  between  the 
character  of  inflammation  now  and  what  it  was  then. 

3d  Prop. — That  the  principles  on  which  blood-letting  and  anti- 
phlogistic remedies  have  hitherto  been  practiced  are  fallacious  and 
opposed  to  pathology. 

Large  and  early  bleeding  have  been  practiced,  under  the  idea 
that,  by  diminishing  the  amount  of  circulating  fluid,  1st,  the 
materus  morbi  in  the  blood  would  be  diminished;  2d,  less  blood 
would  flow  to  the  inflamed  parts ;  3d,  the  increased  quantity  of 
blood  in  the  part  would  be  lessened ;  4th,  the  character  of  the 
pulse  was  the  proper  index  to  the  amount  of  blood  that  ought  to 
be  drawn.  Let  us  examine  a  few  of  these  principles  of  practice. 
The  increased  throbbing  and  circulation  of  blood  in  an  inflamed 
part  may  be  shown  not  to  be  the  cause  of  inflammation,  but  the 
result  of  it,  and  that  the  idea  of  so-called  determination  of  blood 
to  inflamed  parts  is  fallacious.  Now,  if  we  attend  to  what  takes 
place  in  the  finger  from  a  thorn  entering  the  skin  and  remain- 
ing unextracted,  we  find  the  irritating  body  first  acts  upon  the 
cellular  constituents — the  nerves  and  blood-vessels  of  the  part; 
then  comes  on  the  congestion  and  exudation,  and,  lastly,  follows 
the  throbbing,  which  is  the  evidence  of  so-called  determination, 
and  result  of  the  inflammation,  and  not  a  cause  of  it.  The  blood, 
in  this  case,  instead  of  being  sent  by  a  vis  a  tergo,  is,  in  fact, 
drawn  by  a  vis  a  fronte,  and,  as  we  shall  endeavor  to  show,  for 
the  most  important  purposes.  But  why  should  Nature,  in  eases 
4 


50  J.ADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

of  inflammation,  draw  an  increased  amount  of  blood  toward  the 
part?  She  does  so,  it  seems  to  us,  in  obedience  to  one  of  her 
wisest  laws,  but  one  which  has  been  too  much  ignored  by  medical 
practitioners.  It  must  be  obvious,  however,  that  an  inflamma- 
tion having  occurred,  the  great  work  now  to  be  accomplished  is 
the  removal  of  the  exudation — to  eliminate  from  the  injured  part 
Either  directly  by  discharge  externally,  or  by  passage  into  the 
blood,  to  be  finally  excreted  through  the  emunctories.  In  all 
fiiich  cases,  the  blood  is  not  sent  or  determined,  but  drawn  to  the 
part,  in  consequence  of  the  increased  actions  going  on  in  them ; 
in  short,  it  is  absolutely  imperative  that  the  part  in  which  these 
changes  go  on  should  receive  more  blood  than  in  health.  But, 
hitherto,  medical  practitioners  have  supposed  that  this  phenome- 
non is  injurious,  and  ought  to  be  checked  by  blood-letting  and 
antiphlogistics.  The  rapid  flow  of  blood,  which  is  so  necessary, 
they  have  sought  to  diminish,  and  the  increased  amount  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  part  which  is  so  essential  for  the  restoration 
to  health,  it  has  been  their  object  to  destroy.  In  doing  so,  we 
argue  they  act  in  opposition  to  sound  theory,  and,  as  we  shall 
afterward  attempt  to  show,  good  practice,  also. 

The  inconsistency  of  the  theraupeutical  rules  on  this  head  will 
become  more  manifest  when  we  remember  that  it  is  necessary,  in 
the  opinion  of  many  medical  practitioners,  not  only  to  weaken 
the  pulse  when  it  is  strong,  but  to  strengthen  it  when  it  has  been 
made  weak.  Now,  although  it  is  obviously  good  practice  to  sup- 
port the  strength  when  the  calls  upon  the  nutritive  functions 
have  exhausted  the  economy,  it  is  injurious  to  diminish,  by  blood- 
letting, the  nutritive  processes  themselves,  when  they  are  busily 
engaged  in  operating  on  the  exudation  and  eliminating  the  mor- 
bid products.  In  short,  the  phenomena  of  fever  and  excitability 
accompanying  inflammation  have  been  wrongly  inteipreted,  and 
danger  is  to  be  apprehended  from  them,  not  directly,  but  from 
the  subsequent  exhaustion  which  all  great  exertions  of  the  animal 
economy  produce.  In  themselves,  these  exertions  are  sanathe, 
and  indicate  the  struggle  which  the  economy  is  engaged  in  when 
attempting  to  get  rid  of  the  diseased  processes ;  and  whenever  we 
lessen  the  vital  powers  at  such  a  critical  juncture,  we  diminish 
the  chances  of  that  struggle  terminating  favorably.  This  propo- 
sition seems  to  be  universally  admitted  in  the  case  of  essential 
fevers,  and  its  truth  ought  to  be  accepted  equally  in  inflammation. 


DISEASES   OF    THE    EYE.  5a 

It  has  been  argued,  however,  that  the  immediate  effect  of  blood- 
letting justifies  the  practice.  But,  assuming  it  is  granted  that 
in  some  cases  the  pain  is  for  a  time  relieved  by  bleeding,  and 
that  in  pneumonia  the  respiration  temporarily  becomes  more  free, 
at  what  a  cost  are  those  advantages  obtained,  should  the  patient 
l)e  so  weakened  as  to  be  unable  to  rally !  Even  if  he  does  rally, 
a  large  bleeding  almost  always  prolongs  the  disease.  Of  course, 
we  are  now  speaking  of  a  true  pneumonia,  and  not  of  that  com- 
bination of  symptoms  commonly  called  a  chill,  or  lung  fever. 

4th  Prop. — That  an  inflammation  once  established  can  not  bt 
cut  short,  and  that  the  object  of  judicious  medical  practice  is  to 
conduct  it  to  a  favorable  termination. 

There  was  a  time  when  it  was  supposed  that  the  progress  of 
influenza,  distemper,  and  many  other  specific  fevers  which  are  now 
generally  allowed  to  run  their  natural  course,  could  be  arrested  by 
medical  interference.  But  with  regard  to  them  has  been  estab- 
lished the  principles,  first,  of  prevention,  and,  second,  when  this 
ffrils,  of  simply  conducting  them  to  a  favorable  termination. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  same  rule  ought  to  hold  with  regard 
t  >  internal  inflammations,  and  that  this  will  be  admitted  when  it 
h  made  apparent,  not  only  that  every  inflammation,  once  formed, 
r  ins  through  a  definite  course,  but  what  that  course  is.  This  I 
now  proceed  shortly  to  consider.  If  a  violent  blow  or  injury  has 
been  received,  a  greater  or  less  amount  of  exudation  is  infiltrated 
among  the  contused  and  torn  tissues,  which  undergo  disintegra- 
tion, is  absorbed  and  excreted  from  the  economy ;  if  not,  it  col- 
lects, in  the  form  of  a  fluid,  and  constitutes  an  abscess.  The 
series  of  changes  here  referred  to  have  always  been  found  to  bo 
best  perfected  in  animals  of  vigorous  constitutions,  while  in  the 
weak,  poor,  and  broken-down  they  proceed  slowly,  or  not  at  all. 
Surely,  it  can  not  be  maintained  that  in  cases  similar  to  the  above, 
we  can  favor  the  reparative  processess  by  blood-letting  and  low- 
ering the  strength  of  the  economy  ? 

But  in  internal  inflammations,  say  of  the  lungs  or  intestines, 
are  the  processes  different  ?  Certainly  not.  But  because  the  pro- 
cesses by  which  Nature  relieves  herself  have  been  hid  from  view, 
physicians  have  supposed  that  instead  of  treating  the  inflamed 
parts,  as  the  surgeon  does,  he  ought  to  attack  the  general  symp- 
toms which  result  from  the  lesion.  In  cases  of  fracture  and  con- 
tusion there  are  also  febrile  symptoms,  increased  pulse,  and  so  on  j 


52  DADDS  veterinary  surgery  and  medicine. 

but  does  the  surgeon  imagine  that  callous  will  form  better,  or  an 
abscess  be  resolved  or  reach  maturity  sooner,  by  general  blood- 
letting and  antiphlogistics  ?  Experience  teaches  him  otherwise ; 
and  in  the  same  manner  it  may  be  most  reasonably  argued  tl  at 
such  treatment  can  not  favor  the  natural  termination  of  internal 
inflammations. 

5th  Prop. — That  all  positive  knowledge  of  the  experience  of  th* 
past,  as  well  as  the  more  exact  observation  of  the  present  day,  aliki 
establish  the  truth  of  the  preceding  propositions  as  guides  for  tht 
future. 

Before  it  is  possible,  however,  to  determine  with  exactitude  the 
value  of  any  practice,  it  is  essential  to  ascertain  the  natural  dura- 
tion of  the  disease  we  propose  to  treat.  Fortunately,  we  have 
now  some  data  which  will  enable  us  to  arrive  at  this  informatio  i> 
with  regard  to  many  diseases.  We  have  seen  many  severe  ease* 
of  pneumonia  submitted  to  homepathic  remedies — that  no  rea  - 
sonable  medical  man  can  suppose  to  be  any  thing  else  than  inert — 
yet  most  of  these  cases  got  well,  and,  I  think,  may  be  considered 
as  excellent  studies  of  the  disease  left  entirely  to  Nature.  Many 
years'  experience  and  close  observation  have  convinced  me  tha* 
uncomplicated  pneumonia,  especially  in  young  and  vigorous  con  ■ 
stitutions,  almost  always  gets  well,  if,  instead  of  being  lowered, 
the  vital  powers  are  supported,  and  the  excretion  of  effete  pro- 
ducts assisted.  It  is  in  exactly  these  cases,  however,  that  we  were 
formerly  enjoined  to  bleed  most  copiously,  and  that  our  systematic 
works  even  now  direct  us  to  draw  blood  largely,  in  consequence 
of  the  supposed  imminent  danger  of  suppuration  destroying  the 
texture  of  the  lung.  Such  danger  is  altogether  illusory,  and  the 
destruction  to  lung  tissues,  so  far  from  being  pi  evented,  is  far 
more  likely  to  be  produced  by  the  practice.  Jn  fact,  the  onlj 
cures  in  which  it  occurs  are  in  the  aged  or  enfeebled  constitutions , 
in  which  nutrients,  and  not  antiphlogistics,  are  the  remedies  ind\ 
catsd.  We  can,  however,  readily  understand  now  blood-letting, 
practiced  early,  and  in  young  and  vigorous  constitutions,  does  les^ 
harm,  or,  to  use  a  common  expression,  is  '*  borne  better,"  t\\ua 
when  the  disease  is  advanced,  or  the  patient  weak,  and  this  be 
cause  then  the  vital  powers  are  less  affected  by  it.  But  that  it 
cures  the  greater  number  of  animals  attacked,  or  shortens  th«. 
duration  of  the  disease,  is  disproved  by  every  fact  with  which  we 
are  acquainted..     Before  ci  jsinp  we  have  a  few  Avords  to  ofier  on 


DISEASES   OF   THE   EYE.  53 

'mercurials.'  The  confident  belief  in  their  power  of  causing  ab- 
sorption of  lymph,  by  operating  on  the  blood,  is  not  only  opposed 
to  sound  theory,  but,  like  blood-letting,  is  not  supported  by  ex 
perience,  which  has  been  so  confidently  appealed  to  in  their  favor. 
I  can  not,  therefore,  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  principles  which 
led  to  an  antiphlogistic  practice  in  inflammation  were  erroneous, 
and  are  no  longer  in  harmony  with  the  existing  state  of  pathology. 
1  think  it  has  been  further  shown,  that  in  recent  times  our  success 
in  treatment  has  been  great  just  in  proportion  as  we  have  aban- 
doned '  heroic  remedies/  and  directed  our  attention  to  furthering 
the  natural  progress  of  the  disease. 

Internal  inflammations  are  cured,  not  by  bleeding  and  drugs, 
but  by  a  natural  process  as  distinct  and  definite  as  the  process  of 
normal  nutrition.  What  we  may  do  by  our  interference,  may 
either  aid,  promote,  and  even  accelerate,  this  natural  tendency  to 
get  well,  or  it  may  very  seriously  impair  and  retard,  and  even 
altogether  stop,  that  salutary  process.  If,  then,  this  view  of  the 
nature  of  the  means  by  which  inflammation  is  resolved  in  internal 
organs  be  correct,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  assume  that  a  very  de- 
pressed state  of  vital  power  is  unfavorable  to  the  healing  process. 

Indeed,  if  you  watch  those  cases  in  which  nothing  at  all  has 
been  done,  or  in  which  nothing  has  been  done  to  lower  the  vital 
powers,  you  will  find  that  the  mere  inflammatory  process  itself, 
especially  in  an  organ  so  important  as  the  lung,  depresses  the 
strength  of  the  patient  each  day  more  and  more.  You  will  per- 
ceive, then,  that,  according  to  these  views,  there  are  strong  a  priori 
reasons  in  favor  of  the  policy  of  upholding  our  patients,  even  in 
the  earliest  stages  of  acute  diseases,  by  such  food  as  may  be  best 
suited  to  their  digestive  organs,  such  as  is  most  readily  assimi- 
lated, and  calls  for  the  least  effort,  the  smallest  expenditure  of 
vital  force  for  its  primary  digestion — nutritive  matters,  tea 
sweetened  milk,  etc.,  and  also  alcohol,  which  is  directly  absorbed 
and  tends  to  keep  up  the  heat  of  the  body. 

If,  then,  it  has  been  satisfactorily  shown,  in  consequence  of  our 
advanced  knowledge  of  diagnosis  and  pathology,  that  an  anti- 
phlogistic practice  is  opposed  to  the  cure  of  diseases,  it  follows  that 
many  of  the  principles  which  have  hitherto  guided  us  in  their 
treatment  must  be  considerably  modified.  That  medical  practice 
has  undergone  a  great  revolution  during  the  last  fifteen  years,  is 
a  fact  already  «o  well  established  that  it  can  be  no  longer  denial. 


64  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Iii  my  discourse  on  inflammation,  reference  was  made  to  the 
views  held  by  the  '  neuro-pathologists.'    Now,  nervous  pathology 
has  been  in  medicine  the  ' great  scape-goat'  upon  which  more 
professional  sins  have  been  heaped  than  any  other.     'Nervous 
exhaustion/  nervous  irritation,  etc.,  are  a  few  of  the  many  terms 
with  which  we  seek  to  cloak  our  ignorance  of  the  real  nature  of 
many  disorders,  the  intimate  nature  of  which  is  beyond  our  ken. 
Many  accomplished  practitioners  still  maintain  that  abnormal, 
vital  phenomena  may  be,  and  are  likely  to  be,  occasioned  by 
dynamic  aberrations  alone,  and  that  such  phenomena  are  cor- 
rectly designated  as  functional  disease.     We  can  not  concur  in 
this  opinion.     What  is  called  force  of  every  description  is  con- 
nected with,  if  not  dependent  on,  changes  in  the  atoms  of  matter 
Force  is  the  hypothetic  agent  which  underlies  the  phenomena  of 
material  change ;  and  to  affirm  that  dynamic  modifications  of  vital 
function  may  exist  without  alteration  of  material  organization,  is 
to  ignore  the  fundamental  principles  of  philosophic  physiology. 
All  diseases,  therefore,  in  our  opinion,  is  organic,  even  mental 
and  nervous  diseases  of  every  kind  and  form.     Not  a  thrill  of 
sensation  can  occur,  not  a  flashing  thought  or  a  passing  feeling 
can  take  place,  without  changes  in  the  living  organism ;  much  less 
can  diseased  sensation,  thought,  or  feeling  occur  without  such 
changes — changes  which  we  are  not  able  to  detect,  and  which  we 
may  never  be  able  to  demonstrate,  but  which  we  are,  nevertheless, 
certain  of.     For,  whether  we  adopt  the  theory  that  the  states  and 
things  which  we  call  heat,  electricity,  vitality,  etc.,  are  distinct 
entities  of  what  is  called  'imponderable'  matter,  or  the  far  more 
probable   theory  that  they   are  only  phenomena   belonging   to 
ordinary   ponderable  matter,  an   atom  or  a  cell,  charged  with 
electricity  or  heat,  or  in  a  state  of  chemical  activity,  is  essentially 
in  a  different  condition  to  a  cell  or  an  atom  in  chemical  or  elec- 
trical equilibrium  with  surrounding  substances.     Organic  actions 
caii  not  exist  without   corresponding   change.^  in  material  con- 
dition.    The  only  force  capable  of  explaining  any  of  the  phe- 
nomena of  life  is  the  chemical  one,  and  this  only  in  a  state  of 
constant  activity  and  interminable  change.    In  disease,  the  chemi- 
cal composition  of  the  cells,  or  general  matter,  is  altered  from  the 
standard  of  health,  and  this  alteration  of  chemical  composition  is 
the  real  groundwork  of  organic  disease.     Those  abnormal  states- 
which  depend  upon  an  altered  condition  of  the  blood,  are  not  \es.% 


DISEASES    OF    THE    EYE.  M 

a  J;lv  organic  than  all  other  diseases;  for  not  only  can  no  cnange 
n.ke  place  in  the  composition  of  the  blood  without  in  some  le- 
gree  affecting  all  parts  which  are  nourished  by  it,  but  that  tnis 
fluid  is,  strictly  speaking,  itself  a  livkig  organism,  and  every 
change  which  takes  place  therein  is  organic.  Life  can  not  be 
arrested  without  material  change  in  the  organs  necessary  to  life. 
Every  autopsy  in  which  we  fail  to  discover  these  changes,  proves 
merely  that  our  knowledge  of  life  and  death  is  defective,  not  that 
the  changes  do  not  exist." 

Purulent  Ophthalmia. 

Purulent  ophthalmia  takes  its  name  from  the  profuse  discharge 
of  pus,  or  matter,  which  escapes  from  the  eyelids.  In  regard  to 
the  human  subject,  the  authorities  contend  that  there  are  several 
varieties  of  this  malady  prevalent  in  man,  one  of  which,  the  Egypt- 
ian ophthalmia,  is  contagious ;  but  no  such  disease  was  ever  known 
to  occur  among  horses. 

Causes. — The  various  maladies  which  affect  the  eyes  sometimes 
owe  their  origin  to  accidents;  at  other  times  they  occur  in  badly 
%  entilatcd  stable*,  where  a  large  number  of  horses  are  congregated 
together,  and  tW  they  are  supposed  to  be  contagious.  But  it  ap- 
pears that  thee  is  no  necessity,  in  such  case,  to  advance  the  theory 
of  contagion,  by  way  of  explanation  of  the  outbreak ;  for  the  same 
cause  which  oroduced  the  malady  in  the  first  horse  would  be  more 
01  less  creative  in  all  the  rest.  A  hot,  foul  atmosphere  :ias  a 
\ery  Hd  effect  on  the  eyes  of  both  men  and  horses.  The  mem- 
brane lining  the  eyelids,  which  also  covers  the  eyeball,  is  very  vas- 
cular and  sensitive,  and  is  extremely  susceptible  to  irritation  froni 
the  action  of  the  ammoniacal  gases  which  prevail  in  foul  stables ; 
hence,  in  order  to  prevent  the  disease,  proper  attention  must  bf 
paid  to  ventilation  and  cleanliness. 

Treatment. — For  the  treatment  of  purulent  ophthalmia  tne  au- 
thor recommends  the  following  lotion : 

No.  3.  Powdered  chlorate  of  potass \  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  matico 1  oz. 

Water » 8  oz. 

Mix. 

A  poition  of  this  lotion  should  be  applied  to  the  eyes,  by  means 
of  a  *oti  sponge,  two  or  three  times  a  day;  the  eyes  as  well  as  the 


i>6  DADOS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

lids  must,  however,  be  previously  cleansed  with  lukewarm  water. 
The  patient  should  have  a  few  doses  of  fluid  extract  of  poke-root. 
About  half  an  ounce  of  the  extract,  night  and  morning,  will  suffice, 
wnich  will  act  as  an  alterative. 


Specific  Ophthalmia. 

This  form  of  disease  affects  animals  periodically,  and  is  depend- 
ent on   some" peculiar   predisposition;  hence   it  may  be  termed 

hereditary. 

Symptonis. — There  usually  comes  on  very  suddenly,  perhaps  In 
a  single  night,  a  great  tenderness  in  one  eye,  commonly  marked  by 
the  eyelids  being  shut,  a  copious  secretion  of  tears,  the  white  of  the 
eye  appearing  slightly  red,  and  the  whole  anterior  chamber  of  the 
eye  dim  and  clouded,  there  being  no  distinct  speck  on  the  cornea, 
as  takes  place  in  the  common  inflammation  of  the  eye.  The  red- 
ness of  the  eyeball  is  never  very  remarkable,  even  though  the 
disease  assumes  its  most  aggravated  form;  but  the  dimness  of  the 
anterior  chamber  increases  rapidly,  and  in  two  or  three  days,  or 
even  a  shorter  period,  a  yellow  spot  appears  at  the  bottom  of  that 
cavity,  arising  from  the  formation  of  pus.  Sometimes  the  quantity 
of  pus  is  very  considerable,  and  I  have  seen  it  fill  at  least  tw<»- 
thirds  of  the  anterior  chamber.  After  lasting  one,  two,  or  three 
weeks,  the  inflammation  and  watering  usually  begin  gradually  1c 
subside.  The  pus,  though  in  very  large  quantity,  is  sometimes 
almost  entirely  absorbed,  so  that  scarcely  any  vestige  is  to  be  seen ; 
and  in  other  instances  thin  webs  of  opaque  matter  remain,  which 
destroy  the  transparency  and  luster  of  the  eye,  and  which,  by  I  heir 
adhesion  to  the  edges  of  the  pupil,  interfere  with  its  motions  and 
destroy  its  form. 

It  is  astonishing  how  acute  dealers  in  horses  are  in  discovering 
an  eye  which  has  had  an  attack  of  this  kind. 

Sooner  or  later,  while  the  horse  appears  in  a  state  of  perfect 
health,  the  eye  is  again  attacked,  the  disease  being  accompanied  by 
the  same  symptoms,  making  a  similar  progress,  and  having  the 
same  termination,  while  each  new  attack  is  accompanied  with  the 
deposition  of  more  and  more  opaque  matter.  These  attacks  suc- 
ceed each  other  at  very  different,  and  sometimes  at  very  distant, 
intervals,  until  the  whole  pupil  is  filled  with  an  opaque  white 
matter,  and  the  sight  of  the  eye  completely  destroyed. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  EVE. 


57 


During  this  progress,  the  disease  is  often  confined  to  one  eye;  at 
least  one  eye  is  usually  much  more  severely  affected  than  the  other. 
In  some  cases  the  two  eyes  are  simultaneously  affected,  and,  finally, 
by  a  succession  of  attacks,  the  horse  becomes  completely  blind. 
The  probability  is,  that  after  a  horse  has  suffered  several  times 
from  periodical  attacks  he  will  finally  become  blind. 

Treatment. — The  same  treatment  as  recommended  for  common 
foflammation  of  the  eye  is  applicable  to  this  complaint. 


SECTION  III. 

« 

DISEASES    OF    THE    BRAIN    AND    NERVOUS    SYSTEM 

Abscess  within  the  Substance  of  the  Brain — Hydrocephalus,  or  Dropst  oi 
the  Brain — Stomach  Staggers — Apoplexy,  or  Cerebral  Hemorrhage — 
Apoplexy  of  Spine,  or  Spinal  Hemorrhage,  producing  Paraphlegia — 
Epilepsy,  or  Fits — Tetanus — Vertigo — Acute  or  General  Disease  of  th« 
Brain,  known  as  Encephalitis — Sleepy  Staggers — Cerebral  Meningitis-  - 
Chorea,  or  Stringhalt. 


Abscess  within  the  Substance  of  the  Brain. 

THE  author,  having  some  doubts  about  the  curability  of  abscers 
within  the  brain,  can  not  offer  the  reader  much  encourage- 
ment as  regards  the  cure;  yet,  for  the  purposes  of  research,  and  in 
view  of  prosecuting  our  Samaritan-like  calling  on  a  noble  and 
valuable  animal,  it  is  proper  that  the  reader  be  put  in  possession 
of  the  facts  in  the  case.  The  symptoms  and  morbid  conditions 
connected  with  various  forms  of  brain  disease  are,  at  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  very  obscure.  Even  in  human  practice,  the 
authorities  contend  that  the  subject  of  symptoms  and  conditions  is 
full  of  uncertainty  and  apparent  irregularity.  Doubtless  there  is 
some  constant  and  uniform  connection  of  cause  and  effect  between 
the  altered  physical  states  of  the  brain  and  the  altered  manifesta- 
tions of  its  functions,  but  we  have  not  yet  been  successful  in  our 
starch  after  those  settled  relations,  nor  have  we  but  partial  and 
imperfect  glimpses  of  them. 

Causes. — It  is  probable  that  the  same  causes  which  produce 
abscess  in  other  parts  of  the  body,  not  clearly  traceable  to  local 
injuries,  are  operative  in  regard  to  the  brain.  Abscess  is,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  always  preceded  by  an  active  stage,  known  a? 
inflammatory,  and  when  not  called  into  existence  by  local  injury, 
must  depend  on  both  predisposing  and  exciting  causes.  The  pre- 
disposition lurks  in  breed,  and  the  exciting  causes  may  be  among 
(53) 


DISEASES  OF  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM. 


59 


t  IgmL 


A  HORSE  BENT  ON  MISCHIEF— THE  SUBJECT  OF  PHEENITIS. 

those  which  produce  disorder  in  the  digestive  function  or  organs. 
It  is  well  known,  however,  that  this,  like  some  other  diseases  of 
the  brain,  is  constantly  occurring  among  members  of  the  human 
family  as  well  as  the  equine  species,  they  being  the  subjects  of 
constitutional  defect  in  the  form  of  scrofula.  Derangement  of  the 
digestive  organs  almost  always  affect  the  brain,  in  consequence  of 
sympathetic  relations  existing  between  the  two.  Hence,  in  view  of 
preventing  disease  of  the  biain,  we  must  keep  the  stomach  in  good 
working  order,  by  means  of  an  intelligent  system  of  dietetics,  and 
the  exhibition  of  sanative  medicines  when  they  seem  to  be  needed. 
Symptoms. — The  observable  symptoms  of  abscess  within  the  bnn 
do  not  differ  materially  from  those  which  are  present  in  dropsy  of 
the  brain.  In  the  early  stage,  the  animal  appears  lethargic,  sleepy, 
and,  when  urged  to  move,  reels  and  comes  near  falling.  The  head 
is  usually  somewhat  depressed,  yet  it  is  often  inclined  to  one  side: 
the  pupil  of  the  eye  is  dilated,  and  the  membranes  of  the  lids  are 
congested  and  reddened.  As  the  disease  advances,  a  state  of  torpor 
9fts  in.  Blindness,  from  pressure  on  the  brain,  ensues ;  the  animal 
gets  upon  the  floor,  soon  abrades  the  skin  from  the  regions  of  the 
hips  and  shoulders,  until,  as  a  matter  of  charity,  the  owner  pufc» 
an  end  to  the  sufferings  of  the  patient. 


60  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

The  lethargic  condition,  therefore — dilated  pupils,  torpor,,  and 
reeling  of  the  animal — indicate  this  serious  difficulty  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  brain  or  its  cavities. 

Treatment. — Should  the  surgeon  or  the  proprietor  of  the  affected 
animal  desire  to  attempt  a  cure,  the  author  recommends  the  following : 

No.  4    Fluid  extract  of  stillingia,  (queen's-root,)  4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  bloodroot 3  oz. 

Powdered  iodide  of  potass 1  oz. 

Water 6  oz. 

Dissolve  the  iodide  in  the  water,  and  then  add  the  stillingia  and 
bloodroot. 

Dose,  two  ounces,  twice  daily.  Local  treatment  in  this  malady 
does  not  amount  to  much,  if  any  thing  at  all,  for  the  only  way  in 
which  the  matter  within  the  brain  can  be  got  rid  of,  if  got  rid  of 
at  all,  is  by  exciting  the  absorbents  to  action,  so  that  the  matter  may 
be  absorbed.  At  the  same  time,  alteratives  are  to  be  used  ;  and,  for 
this  purpose,  the  above  prescription  is  recommended. 

Hydrocephalus  (Dropsy  of  the  Brain). 

Hydrocephalus  is  the  termination  of  some  disorder  in  the  brain 
itself,  or  the  membranes  surrounding  it ;  yet  some  medical  writers 
contend  that  dropsy  is  rather  a  symptom  of  disease  than  disease  in 
itself.  It  may  be  so  in  some  cases,  which  constitutes  the  exception 
to  a  general  rule ;  but  the  author  regards  dropsy  of  the  brain  a? 
the  last  stage  of  organic  disease  of  that  organ.  On  the  dissectior 
of  the  brain  of  some  horses  that  have  died  of  this  malady,  scrofu- 
lous tubercles  are  often  found  in  the  substance  of  the  brain,  and 
tubercular  deposits  also  manifest  themselves  on  the  membranes  cov- 
ering the  brain.  In  fact,  the  pathological  appearance  revealed  on 
dissecting  the  brain  of  a  horse  which  has  died  of  hydrocephalus 
does  not  differ  from  that  found  in  the  human  subject.    Condie  says : 

"  Tubercles,  varying  in  size  from  that  of  a  pin's  head  to  that  of 
a  pea,  are  very  generally  found  scattered  irregularly  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  pia  mater,  following  it  between  the  convolutions.  Occa- 
sionally, however,  they  occur  in  distinct  patches  of  an  inch  or  more 
in  extent.  They  are  commonly  hard  and  semi-transparent ;  some- 
times opaque,  and  of  a  whitish,  grayish,  or  yellowish  color.  They 
are  found  upon  all  parts  of  the  surface,  the  coiwex  and  lateral  por- 
tions as  w^ll  as  the  base,  in  the  infractuosities  of  the  convolutions, 


DISEASES  OF  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  ol 

;tn<l  in  the  fissures.  According  to  Rilliet  and  Barthez,  they  are 
more  frequent  upon  the  convex  surface  of  the  hemispheres  than  at 
the  base.  Dr.  Hamernjh  found  them  more  frequently  at  or  near 
the  base  of  the  brain.  They  are  much  more  abundant  upon  the 
brain  than  upon  the  cerebellum.  They  are  met  with,  also,  imbed- 
ded in  the  gray  matter  of  the  brain,  and  are  here  often  surrounded 
by  a  halo  of  redness,  usually  connected  with  an  enlarged  vessel, 
ra  mifying  from  the  pia  mater.  More  rarely,  tubercles  are  detected  in 
/he  medullary  portion  of  the  brain,  where  they  are  often  overlooked, 
in  consequence  of  their  pale,  semi-transparent,  yellowish  tint.  The 
plexus  choroides  is,  also,  often  covered  with  tubercles.  They  are 
very  commonly  met  with,  likewise,  on  the  serous  membranes  of 
the  thorax  and  abdomen,  in  the  lungs,  and  occasionally  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  liver.  In  twenty-seven  out  of  thirty-three  cases  of 
hydrocephalus,  Barthez  and  Rilliet  found  tubercles  or  granula- 
tions associated  with  inflammation  of  the  pia  mater ;  in  four  cases 
the  meningitis  was  unattended  by  any  trace  of  tubercular  deposition 
in  the  encephalon;  and  in  two  cases  the  granulations,  or  meningial 
tubercles,  were  unattended  with  any  traces  of  inflammation.  In  all 
the  thirty-three  cases  the  symptoms  were  nearly  identical." 

Causes. — Among  the  causes  of  this  disease,  therefore,  we  may 
consider  the  scrofulous  diathesis  as  being  the  most  potent ;  yet  we 
can  not  always  prove  the  fact  until  after  the  death  of  our  patient. 
Yet  an  autopsy  held  on  such  a  case  is  really  valuable  to  the  inquiring 
mind ;  for,  in  discovering  the  true  pathology  of  the  affection,  we  are 
not  only  enabled  to  comprehend  its  character,  but  also  the  modus 
operandi  of  treatment. 

The  exciting  causes  of  the  malady  are  not  always  so  apparent. 
The  authoi  has  known  it  to  follow  castration,  puncture  of  the  foot, 
staggers,  and  acute  disease  of  the  stomach. 

In  some  cases,  faulty  nutrition  is  the  exciting  cause;  in  shcrt, 
the  symptoms  sometimes  supervene  on  the  subsidence  of  some 
other  malady. 

Symptoms. — As  regards  the  symptoms  of  hydrocephalus,  they  do 
not  differ  materially  from  those  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  article. 
At  first,  torpor,  unconsciousness,  unsteadiness  on  moving ;  dilation 
of  the  pupil ;  the  animal  gets  upon  the  floor,  in  many  cases  never 
to  rise  again.  Stertorous  (grunting)  breathing  takes  place ;  the  ani- 
mal tosses  his  head  about  in  an  unnatural  manner,  often  throwing 
it  backwaid — a  very  noticeable  feature  of  this  affection — occasioo- 


02  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  ANT^   SURGERY. 

ally  raising  it  from  the  ground.     Finally,  ccnvulsions  set  in,  and 
the  subject  dies  in  that  state,  perfectly  unconscious. 

When  hydrocephalus  occurs  after  phrensy,  or  what  is  known  as 
"  mad  staggers,"  it  always  proves  fatal. 

Treatment.  —  For  the  treatment  of  hydrocephalus  give  the  fol 

lowing : 

No.  5.  Fluid  extract  of  buchu 4  oz. 

Water 6  oz. 

Iodide  of  potass 2  oz. 

Mix. 

Dose,  two  ounces,  morning  and  evening. 

The  patient  should  have  injections  of  soap-suds,  once  or  twice 
daily ;  and  should  the  disease  have  made  its  appearance  very  sud- 
denly, or,  in  other  words,  be  of  an  acute  character,  so  that  the  pari  s 
in  the  region  of  the  brain  feel  hot,  they  should  be  then  sponged  very 
frequently  with  cold  water ;  then  give  two  drachms  of  fluid  extra<  t 
of  geloeminum  twice  daily,  until  the  pulse  feels  soft,  or  until  the 
acute  stage  subsides. 

Stomach  Stagger. 

The  ceiebral  disease  usually  denominated  stomach  staggers  pre- 
vails  among  horses  which  are  overfed,  whereby  the  function  of 
digestion  becomes  deranged  ;  and  thus  the  food  given  accumulates, 
and  finally  gorges  the  stomach,  producing  cerebral  derangement, 
which  makes  the  horse  reel  and  stagger  like  a  drunken  man.  The 
horse  may  be  said  to  be  drunk  from  the  efTect  of  food.  Sometimes 
the  cause  is  accidental.  A  horse  gets  loose  in  the  stable,  and,  find- 
ing a  lot  of  meal  or  oats  incautiously  exposed,  he  devours  vora- 
ciously a  large  quantity,  and  very  soon  after  becomes  the  subject 
of  stomach  staggers. 

Symptoms. — A  stomach  surcharged  with  food,  without  any  ac- 
companying distension,  does  not  appear  to  occasion  any  local  pain, 
but  operates  with  that  kind  of  influence  upon  the  brain  which  gives 
rise  to  symptoms,  not  stomachic,  but  cerebral ;  hence  the  analogy 
between  this  disease  and  staggers,  and  the  appellation  for  it  of 
"  stomach  staggers."  The  unnaturally-filled  stomach  produces,  for 
the  first  time,  a  sense  of  satiety ;  the  horse  grows  heavy  and  drowsy, 
reposes  his  head  upon  the  manger,  falls  asleep,  and  makes  a  ster- 
torous noise.  All  at  onoe.  he  rouses  from  his  lethargy,  and  violently 
thrusts  his  head  against  the  rack  or  wall  of  the  stable,,  or  any  thing, 


DISEASES  OF  THE  KRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM  63 

in  fact,  that  happens  to  oppose  him,  and  in  this  posture  paws  with 
his  fore-feet,  or  performs  the  same  action  with  them  as  be  would 
vverc  he  trotting,  evidently  all  the  while  unconscious  of  what  he  is 
about.     His  eye,  which  at  first  was  full  of  drowsiness,  has  now 
acquired  a  wild,  unmeaning  stare,  or  has  already  become  dilated 
and  insensible  to  light.     The  respiration  is  tardy  and  oppressed ; 
the  pulse  slow  and  sluggish  ;  the  excretions  commonly  diminished. 
The  late  Professor  Coleman  used  to  relate  a  circumstance,  in 
his  lectures,  connected  with  this  disease,  which  throws  considerable 
light  on  its  origin.     The  artillery  horses  stationed  in  London  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1817  suffered  very  considerably  from  stomach 
staggers ;  so  much  so  tbat  it  was  considered  to  be  endemical,  and 
of  an  infectious  character.     With  his  usual  penetration,  he  soon 
ttiscovered  the  cause,  and  found  that,  from  some  new  regulations 
about  that  time,  the  stablemen  were  not  allowed  any  candles,  and 
during  the  winter  the  horses  were  bedded  up  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  and  not  fed  again  until  eight  o'clock  on  the  following 
morning,  when  they  consumed  their  breakfast  voraciously,  gorging 
iheir  stomach,  not  to  the  degree  likely  to  produce  acute  indiges- 
l  ion,  but  sufficiently  distending  them  as  to  oppress  the  blood-vessels 
k.nd  the  circulation  through  them.     This  practice,  continued  day 
» fter  day,  caused  a  specific  inflammation  of  the  stomach — an  inflam- 
mation of  a  peculiar  character,  differing  from  gastritis  or  inflam- 
mation of  the  part.     The  symptoms  produced  were  regarded  as 
lesulting  from  the  sympathetic  connection  between  the  stomach 
and  the  brain,  united  to  the  effects  that  would  arise  from  the  daily 
distension,  throwing  a  vast  quantity  of  blood  on  the  brain.     An 
urder  was  obtained  for  candles  for  the  use  of  the  stablemen,  which 
enabled  the  horses  to  be  fed  at  a  later  hour  in  the  evening,  and  an 
earlier  one  in  the  morning,  when  the  disease  disappeared. 

A  common  error  still  prevails,  in  many  districts,  that  staggers  is 
a  contagious  disease ;  but  should  the  horses  on  a  farm  be  attacked 
occasionally  with  slight  fits  of  this  kind,  the  farmer  may  rest 
assured  that  there  is  mismanagement  somewhere  in  the  feeding 
department. 

From  such  evidence  as  this,  it  will  be  inferred  that  there  exists 
qo  doubt  regarding  the  cause  of  stomach  staggers. 

Treatment — We  now  propose  to  show  how  this  disease  ought  to 
be  treated.  The  proposition  of  cure  is,  that  the  digestive  function 
glial  1  be  aroused,  and  the  only  way  to  accomplish  that  is  by  admin- 


64  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

istering  bitter  tonics  and  stimulants.  In  this  viev;  the  following 
prescription  is  offered : 

No.  6.  Fluid  extract  of  black  pepper 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  ginger 6  oz. 

Hyposulphite  of  soda 2  oz. 

Water 4  oz. 

Dissolve  the  hyposulphite  in  the  water,  then  add  the  pepper  and 
ginger.  Give  the  animal  a  wine-glassful  every  four  hours.  A 
stimulating  injection  may  be  thrown  into  the  rectum  occasionally, 
composed  of  a  handful  of  fine  salt  to  about  four  quarts  of  water. 

The  animal  should  be  allowed  to  stand  quietly  in  the  stall,  and 
the  medicine  must  be  given  with  care,  for  the  least  excitement  may 
augment  the  cerebral  difficulty.  So  soon  as  the  medicine  arouses 
the  digestive  functi  \m,  and  the  food  gradually  passes  the  pylorus 
into  the  intestines,  the  animal  will  obtain  relief.  Both  food  and 
water  should  be  withheld  until  there  is  some  marked  improvement ; 
the  patient  has  had  enough  of  food  for  some  time,  and  water  only 
retards  digestion. 

Apoplexy  (Cerebral  Hemorrhage). 

*  As  regards  the  cause  of  apoplexy,  the  author  has  nothing  to 
offer,  except  he  has  noticed  that  the  subjects  of  this  affection  gen- 
erally have  short,  thick  necks,  and,  as  the  saying  is,  "  chunky  " 
heads.  From  this  he  infers  that,  in  so  far  as  conformation  is  con- 
cerned, there  lurks  in  the  system  of  such  animals  a  peculiar  pre- 
disposition. 

Symptoms. — An  animal  may  be  on  the  road,  trotting  along  as 
usual,  without  any  apparent  impairment  of  health,  when  suddenly 
he  falls  down ;  the  pupils  of  the  eyes  become  dilated ;  stertorous 
breathing  sets  in ;  a  deprivation  of  the  sense  of  feeling  anrl  of  mo- 
tion immediately  occurs;  a  tremulous  motion  of  various  parts  ** 
the  body  is  observed ;  the  pulse  beats  with  unnatural  force,  jei 
the  animal  appears  to  be  in  a  deep,  snoring  sleep.  It  may  be  said 
that  the  functions  of  animal  life  are  suspended,  excepting  those  of 
respiration  and  pulsation.  The  animal  is  unable  to  swallow,  and  i£ 
fluids  be  put  into  the  mouth,  they  appear  to  choke  him,  or  they 
run  out  again  at  the  corners  of  his  mouth.  The  prognosis  of  apo- 
plexy is  very  uncertain.  Some  horses  die  in  a  few  hou**,  while 
others  live  for  several  days.     This  depends  on  tbc  amount    c  blood 


DISEASES  OF  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  6?> 

extravasated  on  the  surface  of  the  brain ;  but,  in  most  cases  of 
cerebral  hemorrhage,  the  horse  falls  never  to  rise  again.  He  may 
be  conveyed  home  on  some  vehicle  constructed  for  the  purpose,  but 
the  finger  of  Death  is  on  him ;  his  days  are  numbered,  and  the 
owner  charitably  puts  him  out  of  existence. 

The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  in  apoplexy  the  horse  falls, 
and  is  suddenly  deprived  of  all  voluntary  motion ;  is  insensible  to 
the  prick  of  a  pin,  and  the  breathing,  so  soon  as  he  is  on  the 
ground,  becomes  stertorous.  This  disease,  therefore,  is  not  to  be 
confounded  with  others  of  the  brain  and  spinal  marrow.  For 
example,  a  horse  may  have  an  attack  of  simple  apoplexy  without 
hemorrhage,  fall  down,  and,  by  judicious  treatment,  recover;  or 
he  may  be  the  subject  of  epilepsy,  which  occasions  a  temporary 
suspension  of  consciousness,  with  spasms  recurring  at  intervals. 
Hence,  in  case  of  doubt  or  mistake,  it  will  be  advisable  to  treat 
the  case  in  the  following  manner : 

Treatment. — Procure  a  few  ounces  of  spirits  of  ammonia,  with 
which  saturate  a  sponge,  then  apply  it  to  the  nostrils.  In  the  mean 
time,  sponge  the  head  with  cold  water,  and  rub  the  body  and  limbs 
briskly  with  a  brush  or  whisp  of  straw.  If  he  revive  under  this 
treatment,  there  may  be  some  hopes  of  recovery ;  and  should  it 
appear  that  the  act  of  swallowing  can  be  performed,  give  a  drench 
composed  of 

No.  7.  Powdered  chlorate  of  potass 2  oz. 

Boiling  w iter \  pint. 

When  cool,  administev.  The  action  of  chlorate  of  potass  on  the 
blood  is  to  oxygenize  it,  and  thus  liberate  carbonic  acid  gas. 
With  the  same  object  in  view,  we  apply  ammonia  to  the  nostrils, 
viz. :  to  decarbonize  unpurified  blood. 

Blood-letting  is  inadmissible,  for  it  can  not  accomplish  any 
good  ,  neither  will  it  act  as  a  purificator  of  the  vital  current  which 
the  lun<js  have  fa>"ed  to  arterialize. 


*&- 


Apoplexy  of  the  Spine,  (or  Spinal  Hemorrhage, 
producing  Paraplegia.) 

Paraplegia  signifies  paralysis  of  the  posterior  half  of  the  body. 
Spinal  apoplexy  may  be  classed  in  the  same  order  of  disease  aa 
cerebral  apoplexy — that  is  to  say,  in  so  far  as  the  pathology  of  th«» 
two  forms  is  concerned — and  is  usually  just  as  fatal. 
5 


66  DADD'S    ,  LTERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Causes. — These  are  very  obscure,  except  in  cases  uf  fracture  of 
the  spine,  or  injury  to  the  same,  by  falling.  Then  the  disease  ia 
accounted  for.    It  always  ends  in  paraplegia — palsy  of  hind  limbs. 

Symjjtoms. — The  disease  is  usually  sudden  in  its  attack.     A  pro- 
fuse perspiration  ushers  it  iu ;  next,  the  hind  limbs  fail  to  support 
the  body,  and  the  animal  makes  desperate  efforts  to  support  him- 
self, and  gradually  crouches  and  falls  to  the  ground,  unable,  p*:r 
haps,  ever  to  get  up  again. 

It  has  been  noticed  that  paraplegia  may  also  be  occcasicned  by 
effusion  of  serum  within  the  coverings  of  the  spinal  cord;  yet  we 
can  not  demonstrate  the  fact  only  by  autopsy ;  and  if  we  could,  I 
fear  that  medicine  would  be  of  little  value.  However,  if  it  is  the 
owner's  wish  that  the  case  should  be  treated,  then  the  same  course 
as  recommended  for  cerebral  apoplexy  must  be  pursued. 

Epilepsy —  Fits. 

Epilepsy  consists  of  a  temporary  suspension  of  consciousness. 
This  disease,  if  properly  managed,  is  not  often  fatal.  It  varies  in 
duration.  Sometimes  a  horse  will  suddenly  fall,  lose  all  sensibility 
and  consciousness,  exhibit  spasmodic  contraction  of  the  voluntary 
muscles,  go  into  convulsions,  recover,  and  get  up  again  in  the  course 
of  ten  minutes ;  or  he  may  lie  on  the  ground  and  have  a  succession 
of  paroxysms,  which  may  last  for  half  an  hour  or  more.  If  pro- 
tracted beyond  an  hour  or  so,  the  patient  is  very  apt  to  die.  Ac- 
cording to  the  best  authority,  "the  functions  that  are  affected  in 
this  disease  are  functions  of  the  brain.  Sensation,  thought,  and  mo- 
tion, regulated  by  the  will,  are  the  natural  functions  of  that  organ. 
The  temporary  abeyance  of  sensibility,  thought,  and  volition,*  and 
violent  and  irregular  action  of  the  muscles,  which  are  thus  with- 
drawn from  the  government  of  the  will,  constitute  a  paroxysm  c  t' 
epilepsy." 

The  fit  is  generally  brought  on  by  a  derangement  in  the  relation 
between  the  arterial  and  venous  circulation  within  the  head  aud  a 
temp'jrary  pressure  on  the  brain;  in  other  words,  a  determination 

*  Horses  think  and  reason  just  as  man  does.  Their  manifestations  of  mind  do 
not  differ  from  ours  in  kind,  but  only  in  degree.  "The  noble  and  daring  war- 
horse,  when  he  sniffs  the  distant  field  of  blood,  neighing  for  joy,  instils  a  desper- 
ate courage  into  the  veteran  trooper's  quailing  heart,  gives  evi  j°3ce  of  a  soul, 
the  proper  attribute  of  man." 


DISEASES  OF  THE  UKAiJN   AJND  JNJSKVOUS  SYSTEM.  67 

■of  blood  to  the  head.  After  the  horse  has  fallen,  by  his  struggles 
and  herculean  efforts  to  battle  with  the  malady,  although  uncon- 
ciously,  he  soon  breaks  out  into  a  profuse  perspiration.  This  has 
the  effect  of  relaxing  the  capillaries  so  that  the  blood  circulates  more 
freely  and  uniformly.  An  equilibrium  of  the  circulation  takes  place, 
and  this  is  the  end  of  epilepsy  for  the  time  being.  But  a  horse  once 
having  had  a  fit  of  this  kind  must  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion; 
for  he  is  liable,  when  under  excitement  from  wanton  punishment, 
or  from  exercising  great  feats  of  strength  in  drawing  heavy  loads, 
to  have  a  re-attack. 

Cause.— The  predisposing  cause  of  epilepsy  has  an  hereditary 
origin.  Horses  subject  to  it  have  a  misshapen  head.  It  is  not 
symmetrical — does  not  correspond  with  the  conformation  of  the 
neck  and  body.  In  the  language  of  the  turf,  "the  head  is  too 
coarse."  It  has  been  found,  also,  among  members  of  the  human 
family,  that  epileptics  have  heads  of  an  unnatural  shape.  Wat- 
son says :  "  There  is  no  doubt  that  a  tendency  to  epileptic  disease 
is  frequently  hereditary.  It  may  be  bequeathed  from  parent  to 
child,  or  it  may  skip  over  a  generation  or  two,  and  appear  in  the 
grandchild  or  great-grandchild ;  or  it  may  be  traceable  only  in  the 
collateral  branches  of  the  ancestry."  Epilepsy,  however,  may  not 
always  arise  as  an  hereditary  affection ;  for  a  mere  passive  conges- 
tion of  the  brain,  owing  to  a  loss  of  equilibrium  in  the  circulation 
of  the  blood,  may  produce  it.  In  regard  to  the  horse,  it  is  ver$ 
difficult  for  us  to  decide  on  the  universal  hereditariness  of  the 
nalady,  because  we  have  no  reliable  history  of  the  ancestry  and 
idiosyncrasies  of  our  equine  patients;  yet  if  we  study  carefully  the 
external  conformation  of  well-formed  horses,  and  make  ourselves 
conversant  with  anatomy,  we  shall  be  better  able  to  judge  whether 
or  no  such  an  animal  carries  about  with  him  the  inherent  tenden- 
cies to  particular  diseases ;  and  this  knowledge  will  make  up,  to  a 
certain  extent,  for  the  advantage  which  human  medicine  has  over 
the  veterinary  in  this  department  of  knowledge.  The  principal 
S}Tmp+oms  of  epilepsy  are  as  follows : 

Symptoms. — Suppose  the  horse  attached  to  a  vehicle,  and  trav- 
eling along  at  any  given  pace.  He  gives  a  sudden,  snorting, 
loud  noise,  and  falls  to  the  ground  instantly,  as  if  felled  by  some 
unknown  power.  Here  he  lies,  to  all  appearance,  totally  uncon- 
scious, violently  convulsed  in  every  limb,  his  eyes  staring  as 
though  they  would  burst  out  of  their  sockets;  the  mouth  foama 


68  DADDS   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

with  saliva,  and  violent  convulsions  will  sometimes  affect  the 
whole  frame.  Such  are  the  principal  symptoms  attending  this 
formidable  malady. 

It  will  be  quite  a  novelty  to  some  of  our  readers  to  be  .n- 
formed  that  the  horse  is  actually  subject  to  the  same  diseases 
which  afflict  his  master ;  and  in  view  of  showing  that  there  is  a 
reality  in  the  author's  views  on  the  subject  now  under  considera- 
tion, the  following  quotation  from  the  "  Veterinarian  "  is  offered. 
It  will  show,  by  way  of  comparison,  the  features  of  the  disease 
as  it  occurs  in  the  horse  and  in  man : 

"  In  the  first  place,  as  to  the  exciting  cause  or  causes.  It  is 
well  known  that  among  the  exciting  causes  of  epilepsy  in  the 
human  subject,  mental  or  moral  emotions  have  long  been  con- 
sidered as  holding  a  foremost  rank.  Without  going  into  detail 
on  this  subject,  or  offering  illustrations  of  this  statement,  it  will 
suffice  to  remark  that  the  experience  of  all  adequately  acquainted 
with  medical  literature,  or  tolerably  familiar  with  medical  prac- 
tice, can  not  fail  to  supply  them  with  numerous  instances  wherein 
this  class  of  causes  has  been  in  operation  as  concerned  in  the  pr<v- 
•laction  of  the  disease  in  question.  Over  and  over  again  I  ha\e 
Myself  witnessed  cases  of  epilepsy,  either  during  or  after  the  par- 
jrysni  or  fit,  in  which  I  have  had  good  reason  for  entertaining 
the  opinion  that  certain  mental  or  moral  emotions  had  largely,, 
if  not  entirely,  contributed  to  this  result.  Now,  without  deny- 
ing that,  in  some  instances,  fright  may  so  far  affect  the  horse  as 
to  prove  an  exciting  cause  of  epilepsy  in  that  animal,  still,  I 
think  that,  almost  as  a  general  rule,  the  class  of  causes  now 
under  consideration  may  be  excluded  from  further  notice  as  tend- 
ing toward  the  production  of  this  disease  in  the  horse. 

Assuming  this  position  for  the  sake  of  argument,  we  thus 
eliminate  at  once,  so  far  as  concerns  this  animal,  most  of  such 
ranes  of  epilepsy  as,  if  speaking  in  reference  to  the  human  sub- 
ject, would  be  regarded  as  cases  of  epilepsy  of  centric  origin. 
Without  altogether  denying  that,  in  some  instances,  the  presence 
of  tumors,  or  morbid  growths,  or  excrescences  of  any  kind,  or 
of  spiculse  of  bone  in  certain  parts  of  the  brain,  or  spinal  coid, 
or  their  membranes,  may  occasionally  operate  as  causes  of  epi- 
lepsy, yet  I  am  by  no  means  prepared  to  admit  that  their  pres- 
ence in  such  places,  by  irritation  of  these  structures,  is  so  frequent 
a  cau«e  of  this  disease  as  is  affirmed  by  some  medical  authorities.. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  BRAlN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  69 

Yet,  whatever  view  of  the  question,  whether  affirmative  or  nega- 
tive, may  be  taken,  the  same  reasoning  will  apply  equally  to  man 
and  the  horse  in  regard  to  the  disease  under  consideration.  We 
are  told  that,  in  some  instances,  such  foreign  bodies  have  been 
found  in  these  situations  on  examination  after  death.  This  I  do 
not  deny;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  evidence  that  these  had 
much,  if  any  thing,  to  do  in  the  production  of  epilepsy,  still  less 
that  the  disease  took  its  origin  from  them,  is,  in  my  judgmeni, 
far  from  complete,  and,  in  some  cases  that  have  been  recorded, 
unsatisfactory  to  the  last  degree.  Again,  the  circulation  of  blood 
in  an  unhealthy  state,  in  its  accustomed  channels  through  the 
substance  of  the  delicately-constructed  brain  or  spinal  cord,  appears 
to  me  not  unlikely  to  be  a  frequent  cause  of  this  disease  in  man. 
The  comparatively  recent  physiological  researches  of  Dr.  Brown - 
Sequard  have  thrown  much  light  upon  the  heretofore  obscure 
pathology  of  epilepsy  in  the  human  subject ;  and  I  conceive  that 
his  arguments,  and  the  conclusions  deduced  therefrom,  are,  for  the 
most  part,  perfectly  applicable  to  an  animal  so  high  in  the  zoolog- 
ical series  as  the  horse  is  well  known  to  be." 

Treatment. — So  soon  as  the  horse  falls,  some  hay  or  straw  should 
be  placed  under  his  head  and  around  him.  Bathe  the  region  of 
the  cranium  with  cold  water,  and  carefully  wash  the  foam  from  his 
mouth,  taking  care  not  to  let  any  water,  hay,  or  dirt  enter  the 
nostrils.  Officious  persons  are  very  apt  to  attempt,  by  force  of 
strength,  to  raise  the  horse  on  his  legs ;  but  this  ought  not  to  be 
done.  Let  him  rest  quietly  until  consciousness  returns;  then, 
should  he  attempt  to  get  up,  help  from  the  bystanders  may  then 
be  of  some  service.  When  on  his  legs,  deal  gently  with  him.  Let 
the  external  surface  of  the  body  be  rubbed  until  the  skin  is  dry ; 
then  administer  two  ounces  of  fluid  extract  of  valerian,  and  let 
the  patient  be  provided  with  comfortable  quarters.  For  a  few 
days  the  patient  should  be  excused  from  work,  and  be  fed  lightly. 
The  only  way  to  prevent  a  re-attack  is  to  keep  him  at  light  work, 
and  treat  him  in  the  most  gentle  manner,  both  in  the  stable  and 
out  of  it. 

In  cases  of  this  character,  as  well  as  many  others,  men  are  apt 
to  place  too  much  confidence  in  medicine,  and  dose  the  animal  ac- 
cordingly ;  but,  as  we  understand  the  practice  of  medicine,  it  is  the 
province  of  the  good  physician  to  know  when  to  do  nothing. 


70 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


Tetanus,  or  Locked  Jaw. 

"We  recognize  tetanus  by  the  unnatural  condition  of  the  muscles 
of  various  parts  of  the  body,  more  particularly  those  of  the  face 
and  neck.  But  the  fault  lies  not  in  the  muscles,  but  in  the  nervous 
system.  This  disease  constitutes  one  of  the  most  terrible  and  fatal 
to  which  the  horse  is  subject.  It  is  not  only  frightful  to  look  upon, 
but  is  productive  of  the  most  distressing  agony  to  the  animal. 


THE  TEST  FOB  TETANUS  OB  LOCKED-JAW. 


■xplanation—  On  placing  ahand  under  the  angle  of  the  jaw,  and  pushing  the  head  In  an  upward 
direction,  the  nictitating  membrane  (haw)  will  be  suddenly  thrown  partly  over  the  pupil,  a* 
seen  in  the  above  picture.    This  is  the  diagnostic  symptom  of  tetanus. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  this  disease.  It  is  charac- 
terized by  involuntary  and  persistent  cramps  of  the  voluntary 
muscles.  The  muscles  which  seem  first  to  be  affected  are  those  of 
the  jaws,  neck,  and  throat;  and  soon  all  the  other  muscles  are  in- 
volved. One  of  the  principal  tests  for  the  discovery  of  the  disease 
is  to  place  a  hand  under  the  jaw  and  raise  the  head.  Immediately 
•  the  haw,  or  nictitating  membrane,  shoots  over  the  eyeball.  (See 
cut.)  There  is  no  other  disease  with  which  tetanus  can  be  con- 
founded ;  therefore,  a  minute  description  of  the  symptoms  seems 
superfluous  at  this  point  of  our  argument. 

When  the  disease  affects  the  muscles  of  the  jaw  only,  it  is  called 
trismus ;  but  it  is  only  a  variety  of  the  same  disease,  and,  therefore. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  BRAIN   AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM. 

requites  the  same  treatment.  In  former  years  the  author  met  with 
but  little  success  in  the  treatment  of  this  malady,  yet  recently,  oy 
using;  more  mild  and  sanative  agents,  he  has  been  very  fortunate. 
Bleeding,  purging,  and  blistering  has  had  its  day,  but  that  day 
has  now  past.  We  have  learned  that  to  do  violence  to  the  animal 
system  is  not  to  do  good ;  and  our  aim  now  is  to  "  pair  off"  with 
Nature,  endeavor  to  sustain  the  vital  powers,  or,  rather,  by  sanative 
medication  and  nutritious  fluids,  keep  the  animal  alive,  while  the 
disease  runs  its  course.  Physicians  have  no  power  to  arrest  the 
disease,  and  those  who  think  so  only  deceive  themselves  and  their 
employers-;  and  those  who  attempt  the  feat  of  cutting  the  disease 
short  by  heroic  medicines,  are  arrayed  in  hostility  to  Nature,  and 
an  unnecessary  death  is  often  the  consequence.  Any  of  our  readers 
who  happen  to  have  great  faith  in  drugs  will  probably  feel  little 
comfort  in  the  perusal  of  the  following  quotation,  uttered  by  one 
of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  of  France.  It  was  intended 
for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  but  it  also  applies  to  veterinary  medi- 
cine, simply  from  the  fact  that  the  diseases  of  animals  are  to  be 
treated  on  the  same  general  principles  which  apply  to  man : 

"  The  sick-room  no  longer  resembles  the  sample  department  of 
of  a  drug  warehouse.  Our  physicians  have  consciences  and  com- 
mon sense.  They  recognize  Nature  as  the  great  antagonist  of  dis- 
ease, and  endeavor  to  assist  her  in  her  struggle  to  expel  it,  instead 
of  negatively  helping  disease  by  prostrating  the  physical  strength 
of  its  victims  with  drastic  cathartics,  cantharides,  and  the  lancet. 
In  ailments  for  which  gallons  of  medicine  were  given  half  a  cen- 
tury ago,  as  many  ounces  are  not  administered  at  the  present  day, 
a  ad  bleeding  and  blistering  have  almost  fallen  into  disuse.  Not 
long  before  his  death,  the  great  French  surgeon,  physician,  and 
medical  chemist,  Majendie,  told  his  pupils,  in  the  college  of  France, 
that  the  old  hospital  practice  was  mere  humbug ;  that  he  himself 
had  prescribed  the  drugs  of  the  dispensary  at  the  Hotel  Lieu,  in 
Paris,  without  having  the  least  idea  why  or  wherefore,  and  that  on 
administering  bread  pills  and  colored  water  to  one  division  of  his 
patients,  and  the  preparations  of  the  pharmacopoeia  to  another,  he 
found  that  the  mortality  was  least  among  those  who  took  no  medi- 
cine !  '  You  tell  me,'  said  this  extraordinary  man,  in  one  of  the 
lectures  of  his  final  course,  '  that  doctors  cure  people.  I  grant  you 
people  are  cured.  But  how?  Gentlemen,  Nature  does  a  good 
deal ;  imagination  does  a  good  deal.     Doctors  do  very  little,  whec 


72  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

they  don't  do  harm.  You  ask,  then,  what  is  the  use  of  attending 
medical  lectures  ?  I  '11  tell  you.  We  come  here  (to  the  college  of 
France)  to  study  Nature,  to  learn  to  reinforce  and  aid  Nature,  not 
to  spin  fine  theories.  I  would  not  give  a  centime  for  all  the  theories 
in  the  world.     Give  me  stubborn  facts.' 

"  Such  was  the  bold  and  candid  language  of  one  of  the  greatest 
anatomists  and  physicians  of  the  age  but  a  short  time  before  his 
death.  Our  medical  men  do  not  take  quite  such  strong  ground  as 
Majendie  took,  but  they  show  their  lack  of  faith  in  what  was 
formerly  called  ( vigorous  treatment '  by  sparing  medication,  and  a 
still  more  limited  use  of  the  lancet  and  other  mechanical  means 
of  depletion.  Nature,  after  having  been  professionally  misused  for 
centuries,  seems  at  last  to  have  found  a  friend  and  ally  in  the 
medical  faculty." 

We  now  come  more  directly  to  the  treatment  of  tetanus;  and,  in 
view  of  showing  what  unwarrantable  outrages  are  perpetrated  en 
the  poor  uncomplaining  brute,  the  following  article  is  here  intro- 
duced : 

"  Wounds  of  tendinous  and  ligamentous  parts  are  the  common 
cause  of  tetanus,  more  generally  known  as  locked-jaw,  so-calkd 
because  the  first  symptoms  of  the  violent  spasmodic  affection  ave 
detected  in  the  jaw.  Castration,  nicking,  docking,  lacerations,  and 
punctures,  particularly  of  the  feet,  are  the  kinds  of  wounds  that 
end  in  tetanus.  Even  slight  contusions  will  bring  it  on.  It  is  a 
dreadful  and,  too  often,  a  fatal  disease.  The  animal  is  nearly 
paralyzed  by  the  constant  spasm  of  all  the  voluntary  muscles. 
The  symptoms  are  unmistakable:  First,  a  certain  stiffness  about 
the  throat,  and  difficulty  in  swallowing  or  turning  the  head.  This 
gradually  extends  to  the  jaws,  contracting  the  mouth.  The  home 
possesses  a  desire  to  masticate,  but,  in  the  earliest  stage  of  the  dis- 
ease, the  work  is  imperfectly  performed,  with  great  pain.  The  eyes 
become  vivid  in  appearance,  and  present  a  retroverted  aspect.  The 
disease  continues  to  spread,  and  when  it  affects  the  voluntary  mus- 
cles of  the  trunk  and  the  extremities,  the  animal  becomes  a  living 
picture  of  agony  and  distress.  The  cocked  yet  quivering  tail,  the 
distended  legs,  the  contraction  of  the  abdominal  muscles,  the  trem- 
ulous and  irregular  pulse,  the  hurried  respiration,  the  sweat-marks; 
and  the  fixed  and  sunken  eyes,  all  speak  unmistakably  of  the  vio- 
lent and  painful  nature  of  the  disease.  The  animal  sometimes 
suffers  for  six  01  seven  days,  when  it  falls,  completely  exhaus^d 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DRAIN   AND  NERVOUS  Si'STEM.  73 

by  continued  irritation  and  inanimation ;  or  it  expires  in  tt  rrible 
convulsions.  Tetanus,  indisputably,  is  a  nervous  affection.  An 
injury  to  a  small  fiber  of  some  nerve  extends  to  the  origin  of  the 
nerve,  when  the  brain  becomes  affected,  and  a  diseased  action  of 
the  body  ensues.  When  locked-jaw  results  fatally,  it  will  be  be- 
fore the  expiration  of  nine  days,  as  the  horse  dies,  without  a  remis- 
sion of  the  spasms,  from  sheer  exhaustion.  The  free  use  of  the 
\ancet  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  surest  means  of  curing  tetanic 
cases,  as  by  a  flow  of  blood  we  open  the  bowels  and  tranquilize 
the  system.  Venesection  is  the  most  powerful  sedative  for  mus- 
cular spasms.  The  nervous  influence  passes  off  with  the  blood; 
therefore  the  flow  should  be  most  copious.  We  may  bleed  the 
horse  until  he  falls,  before  the  triumph  is  complete.  The  perma- 
nent strength  of  the  animal  is  not  hazarded  by  the  free  use  of  the 
lancet,  but  we  simply  make  an  attack  upon  the  seat  of  the  disease. 
Physic,  also,  is  a  matter  of  much  importance.  Profuse  bleeding* 
will  cause  the  muscles  of  the  jaws  to  relax,  when  the  dose  may  be 
introduced  into  the  mouth.  Clysters  assist  the  action  of  the  pur- 
gatives ;  therefore  are  useful.  The  application  to  the  spine  of 
green  sheep-skins,  warm  from  the  slaughtered  animal,  will  some- 
times diminish  the  sufferings  of  the  patient.  By  gently  rubbing 
the  spine  with  the  hand,  and  then  by  using  an  opiate  liniment,  a 
relief  may  be  afforded.  From  eight  to  ten  drachms  of  aloes  should 
be  administered  as  a  physic.  The  farina  of  croton-nut  is  also  a 
powerful  purgative.  A  solution  of  Epsom  salts  constitutes  a  safe 
injection  as  a  clyster.  Opium,  when  given  in  doses,  varying  from 
one  half  to  two  drachms,  is  a  valuable  medicine  in  cases  of  lock- 
jaw. The  disease  is  a  violent  one,  and  to  check  it  prompt  meas- 
ures must  be  resorted  to." 

Contrast  this  with  the  following  case :  While  in  the  city  of  61, 
Louis,  a  short  time  ago,  I  was  requested  to  visit  a  bay  gelding, 
aged  eight  years,  the  property  of  Captain  Silva.  The  messenger 
informed  me,  not  knowing  that  it  was  a  case  of  tetanus,  that  the 
horse  was  "  all  stiffened  up."  On  an  examination,  the  following 
symptoms  were  presented  :  The  muscles  in  the  region  of  the  neck 
a  ud  back,  rigid ;  the  eyes  had  a  sort  of  squinting  appearance ;  the 
nose  protruded ;  the  ears  were  erect  and  stationary ;  the  nostrils 
were  expanded  to  their  utmost  capacity ;  the  head,  neck,  and  trunk 
seemed  to  be  immovable,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  make  him 
turn  in  any  direction,  or  describe  the  least  segment  of  a  circle, 


74  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

The  abdomen  appeared  "  tucked  up,"  as  the  saying  is.  This  arose 
from  the  rigid  state  of  muscles  of  the  abdomen.  The  hind  limbs 
presented  a  straddling  appearance,  and  the  fore  ones  were  unnat- 
urally advanced  far  beyond  the  axis  of  the  shoulder-blade ;  the 
bowels  were  constipated ;  the  pulse  was  wiry,  and  the  respirations 
were  accelerated  and  laborious.  The  case  was  diagnosed  as  tetanus 
from  puncture  of  the  off  hind-foot.  It  appeared  that  the  animal 
had  picked  up  a  nail,  five  days  previous,  which  was  withdrawn  by 
a  blacksmith,  and  the  foot  was  dressed  in  the  usual  way.  The 
treatment  was  as  follows  : 

The  rigid  muscles  were  rubbed,  twice  daily,  with  a  portion  of 
the  following  antispasmodic  liniment: 

No.  8.  Cod-liver  oil 12  oz. 

Oil  of  cedar 4  oz. 

Sulphuric  ether 3  oz. 

The  application  of  the  liniment  was  continued  during  a  period  of 
ten  days,  in  which  time  four  drachms  of  Indian  hemp  were  daily 
placed  on  the  tongue.  The  jaws  now  relaxed,  so  that  the  patient 
could  eat  bran  mashes.  At  the  expiration  of  two  weeks  all  signs 
of  tetanus  had  disappeared. 

Vertigo  (Dizziness  or  Giddiness). 

The  term  vertigo  signifies  giddiness  or  dizziness.  It  is  usually 
the  result  of  some  latent  disease  within  the  brain ;  and  when  that 
is  present,  any  exciting  cause,  which  we  shall  presently  refer  to, 
may  bring  on  a  fit  of  vertigo.  The  following  article,  by  surgeon 
Haycock,  will,  perhaps,  prove  interesting  to  the  reader : 

"  By  vertigo  is  meant  a  chronic  disease  of  the  horse,  chiefly  in 
dicated  by  a  disturbance  of  the  sensitive  faculties,  occasioning 
derangement  in  the  ordinary  functions  of  life.  Much  that  is  incor- 
rect has  been  written  regarding  the  seat,  properly  so-called,  of  the 
evil.  At  present,  most  veterinary  surgeons  are  agreed  in  seeking 
the  proximate  cause,  not  as  formerly,  on  the  brain,  but  in  the  ab- 
dominal organs,  and  on  considering  the  cerebral  affection  as  purely 
secondary." 

Vertigo  often  succeeds  acute  disease  of  the  brain. 

Causes. — Its  chief  exciting  causes  are  confinement  in  hot  and 
badly-aired  stables,  cold,  extreme  fatigue,  blows  and  injuries  on 
the  head,  indigestion,  unwholesome  or  too  much  food  in  proportion 


DISEASES  OF  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  76 

to  the  exercise  taken.  The  fear  of  punishment,  especially  of  the 
whip,  occasionally  gives  rise  to  it,  in  sensitive  and  irritable  ani- 
mals. Some  horses  have  an  hereditary  predisposition  to  it,  and 
mares  are  considered  more  subject  to  it  than  stallions.  Further, 
it  is  scarcely  ever  observed  except  in  hot  weather;  and  as  it  is 
generally  at  the  beginning  of  summer  that  it  commences  to  appear, 
it  goes  away  always  in  autumn,  at  least  with  respect  to  its  chief 
Bymptoms. 

Symptoms. — The  horse  having,  previous  to  the  attack,  been 
lively  and  active,  begins,  all  of  a  sudden,  to  appear  heavy  and  in- 
dolent. He  is  dejected,  and  prefers  to  keep  himself  in  the  dark- 
est corner  of  the  stable.  Eyes,  dull ;  look,  fixed  and  stupid ;  eye- 
lids, half  shut ;  inattention  to  every  thing,  forgetting  even  himself, 
and,  as  it  were,  asleep,  his  head  hanging  down,  or  resting  on  the 
manger.  His  gait  is  heavy,  slow,  and  unsteady ;  he  raises  his  feet 
very  high,  and  puts  the  entire  sole  to  the  ground,  raising  and  let- 
ting down  the  limbs  in  a  manner  purely  mechanical,  and,  as  it 
were,  unconsciously.  He  exhibits  much  awkwardness  in  turning, 
and  can  not  be  pulled  back  except  by  depressing  the  head  very 
much,  and  pushing  it  latterly.  He  also  leans  to  one  side  in  walking. 
To  maintain  his  equilibrium  the  better,  he  places  the  fore-legs 
beneath  the  belly,  and  moves  his  ears  backward  in  a  peculiar 
manner.  According  as  the  disease  progresses,  he  becomes  less 
and  less  sensible  to  external  impressions.  Mastication  is  per- 
formed slowly.  He  takes,  from  time  to  time,  a  mouthful  of  food, 
masticates  it,  swallows  a  portion  of  it,  but  keeps  the  remainder 
in  his  mouth.  He  prefers  taking  his  food  oif  the  ground  rather 
than  in  any  other  way,  and  when  drinking,  he  plunges  his  head 
into  the  water,  even  above  his  nostrils.  During  and  after  some 
rather  violent  movements,  his  symptoms  become  much  aggra- 
vated, and  the  signs  of  complete  insensibility  become  more  and 
more  marked.  The  animal  runs  on  quite  blind  till  some  obstacle 
stops  him,  or  turns  round,  or  remains  tranquil,  with  his  head 
depressed,  and  the  legs  crowded  beneath  the  body,  without  being 
able  to  change  this  unusual  attitude,  unless  assisted  to  do  so. 
There  is  never  any  fever.  The  pulse  is  often  from  ten  to  twelve 
pulsations  slower  than  in  the  normal  state. 

In  the  same  way,  also,  the  respiration  is  constantly  slow, 
deep,  and  frequently  of  a  sighing  character.  In  almost  all  cases, 
the  tongue  is  foul,  and  the  mouth  dry  and  clammy.     With  respec* 


76  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

to  treatment,  the  remedies  which  have  succeeded  best  with  me  are, 
camomile  (some  doses),  then  sulphur  and  nux  vomica.  In  a  par- 
ticular case,  where,  independently  of  the  symptoms  peculiar  to 
vertigo,  the  conjunctiva,  iongue,  and  mouth  were  more  yellow, 
the  horse  frequently  flexed  his  fore-legs,  seldom  .ay  down,  the 
fteces  were  hard,  and  he  passed  but  little  urine. 

The  reader  will  perceive  that  many  of  the  symptoms  above 
alluded  to  are  present  in  other  diseases  of  the  brain  •  therefore, 
some  difficulty  may  be  encountered  in  diagnosing  the  :ase.  It  is 
best  for  us,  however,  to  diagnose  the  case  on  the  symptoms  of 
dizziness  or  giddiness ;  then  a  mistake  is  not  likely  to  occur.  Yet, 
after  all,  a  mistake  in  the  true  nature  of  the  malady  will  not 
prove  disastrous,  provided  the  patient  be  treated  on  the  general 
principles  laid  down  in  this  work,  by  means  of  sanative  medicines 
and  little  good  common  sense. 

Treatment. — For  example,  should  a  horse  have  an  attack  of 
vertigo  on  the  road,  the  driver  must  immediately  stop  and  loosen 
the  throat-latch  and  check-rein.     Then  let  the  animal  stand  in 
quietude  for  a  few  minutes,  during  which  time  he  may  possibly 
recover,  and  soon  be  able  to  resume  the  journey.     If  not,  he  must 
be  taken  out  of  the  harness,  and  carefully  led  to  the  nearest  sta- 
ble, or  where  he  shall  be  free  from  annoyances  of  every  kind. 
After  the  excitement  is  over,  the  animal  may  be  led  home,  and 
put  into  a  roomy  stall,  where  he  must  be  dieted  according  to  his 
condition.     If  fat  and  plethoric,  bran  mashes  are  indicated,  into 
which  should  be  stirred  a  drachm  or  two  of  hyposulphite  of  soda. 
Should  the  patient  be  poor  in  flesh,  a  few  good  oats  are  indicated, 
to  which  add  a  small  quantity  of  powdered  ginger  and  balmony. 
The  surface  of  the  body  being  cold,  it  must  be  warmed,  after  the 
usual  fashion,  by  means  of  clothing.     But  should  the  surface  of 
the  body  feel  hot,  more  particularly  in  the  region  of  the  head, 
then  tonics,  stimulants,  and  food  are  to  be  withheld.     A  bucket 
of  cold  water  is  then  to  be  placed  before  him,  into  which  about 
four  drachms  of  nitrate  of  potass  may  be  stirred. 

Inflammation  of  the  Brain  (Blind,  Sleepy  or  Mad 

Staggers). 

The  contents  of  the  cranium  are  called,  collectively,  the  enee- 
phalon  :  hence  the  term  encephalitis,  which  signifies  inflammation 


DISEASES  OF   THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  77 

of  any,  or  all  portions  of  the  contents  of  the  cranial  cavity. 
Various  terms  are  applied  to  disease  of  this  character,  such  as 
"  sleepy  staggers,"  "  coma,"  "  phrenitis,"  cerebritis,"  and  "  cere- 
bral meningitis,"  the  latter  being  formerly  recognized  as  blind  or 
sleepy  staggers.  These  several  terms  merely  apply  to  the  various 
stages  of  the  acute  disease  as  it  gradually  invades  the  membranes 
covci  ing  the  brain,  or  the  substance  of  the  brain  itself.  It  some- 
times appears  to  invade  at  once  the  whole  of  the  parts  within 
the  skull,  or,  beginning  in  one  part,  it  extends  rapidly  to  all  the 
rest,  so  that  the  term  encephalitis  seems  to  be  more  applicable 
than  those  just  ^numerated.  It  is  a  matter  of  impossibility  for 
us  to  tell  precisely  what  are  the  pathological  conditions  of  the  parts 
affected.  Nor  are  the  symptoms  always  the  same.  They  may 
range  from  a  state  of  phrenzy  to  one  of  coma.  Still,  in  our  treat- 
ment, we  shall  not  be  led  astray  ;  for,  being  an  acute  affection,  (or 
affections,  as  some  persons  may  term  it,)  we  have  to  treat  it  on  the 
same  general  principles  which  obtain  in  many  or  all  diseases  of 
an  acute  character,  viz. :  by  means  of  sedatives,  laxatives,  cold 
water,  spare  diet,  and  rest. 

Should  the  patient  die  during  the  acute  stage  of  disease  of  ths 
brain,  an  autopsy  will  reveal  great  vascularity  and  softening  of 
the  cerebral  mass,  and  thickening  of  its  membranes ;  but  should 
the  disease  run  on  unchecked  to  a  fatal  termination,  pus  and 
fluid  may  be  found  within  the  lateral  ventricles  of  the  brain. 
This  enables  us  to  explain  the  difference  between  the  symptoms 
which  prevail  in  the  early  and  latter  stages  of  the  malady ;  for, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  acute  stage,  the  loss  of  equilibrium 
in  the  circulation  sends  the  red  arterial  blood,  in  undue  quanti- 
ties, to  the  brain — the  part,  perhaps,  most  predisposed  to  diseased 
action,  or,  it  may  be,  at  the  time  actually  in  a  pathological  con- 
dition ;  hence  the  loss  of  equilibrium  in  the  circulation — which, 
in  consequence  of  accelerated  respiration,  becomes  highly  charged 
with  oxygen,  acts  as  a  potent  stimulus,  not  only  to  the  nervous 
system,  but  to  the  muscular  system  also,  producing  those  active 
and  phrenitic  symptoms  which  have  led  us  to  infer  that  the  patient 
is  going  or  is  actually  mad;  hence  the  name  which  some  per- 
sons have  applied,  "  mad  staggers."  This  activity  can  not  last 
long ;  for  it  is  potent  to  exhaust  the  vital  forces.  Organs  and 
parts  of  the  body  become  overworked ;  then  comes  organic 
changes — softening  of  the  brain,  effusion,  formation  of  pus,  whioL 


78  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

end*  in  coma,  which  is  the  latter  stage  just  referred  to,  devoid  o\ 
any  mad  or  phrenitic  symptoms,  but  marked  by  lethargy,  or  i 
prolonged  comatose  condition,  from  which  no  stimulus  will 
arouse  the  patient.  He  is  not  only  the  subject  of  altered  struc- 
ture within  and  around  the  brain,  but  the  latter  is  compressed  by 
the  serum,  or  pus,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  thus  sensibility  is 
more  or  less  destroyed.  The  degree  of  coma,  however,  will  be 
lirectly  proportioned  to  the  degree  of  pressure.  Now,  the  reader 
will  perceive  that  the  proposition  of  treatment,  just  referred  to, 
for  the  acute  stage  will  not  apply  to  the  comatose  condition  ;  for 
here  we  have  to  stimulate  and  give  tone  to  the  system,  so  as  to 
sustain  the  failing  vital  powers. 

In  regard  to  this  subject,  Professor  Copeman  observes:  "In 
inflammation  of  the  brain,  phrenitis,  mad  staggers,  I  have  told 
you  that  it  may  be  said  to  be  impossible  to  distinguish,  with  any 
thing  like  certainty,  in  individual  cases,  acute  inflammation  of 
the  substance  of  the  brain  from  those  affecting  the  membranes 
or  ventricles.     The  reason  will  be  obvious  when  we  reflect  thai 
the  phenomena,  in  every  instance,  are,  in  fact,  attributable  1c 
pressure  on  the  entire  contents  of  the  skull,  encephalon,  viz  : 
cerebrum,  cerebellum,  medulla,  oblongata,  and  membranes;  and 
if  this  be  rapid  and  general,  it  can  matter  little  whether  it  orig- 
inates from  the  membranes  or  the  brain.     Acute  inflammation 
does,  however,  sometimes  appear  to  invade  at  once  the  whole  of 
the  parts  that  are  lodged  within  the  skull ;  or,  beginning  in  one 
part,  it  extends  rapidly  to  all  the  rest.     The  symptoms  which 
usually  mark  an  attack  of  cerebritis  are  the  following :   The  horne 
becomes  sleepy,  heavy,  or  more  or  less  comatose,  accompanied  by 
general  fever.    After  a  time  a  convulsive  attack  supervenes.    He 
becomes  morose,  and  shows  delirium;  perhaps  rears  both  fore- 
legs into  the  manger,  from  which  position  he  may  reel  around 
and  fall,  kicking  and  tearing  every  thing  about  him.     During 
the  fit  his  respiration  is  much  excited,  and  he  sweats  profusely 
If  he  gets  upon  his  legs,  he  makes  sudden  and  violent  efforts, 
dashing  against  rack,  manger,  or  stall,  totally  disregarding  any 
thing  that  may  be  said  or  done  to  him.     Thus  he  is  continually 
struggling,  panting,   and   perspiring,   perhaps   foaming   at   the 
mouth,  leading  the  ordinary  observer  to  believe  he  is  not  only 
delirious  but  actually  'mad.'    But  all  these  symptoms  vary  much 
in  different  cases.     Coma  occurs  frequently,  but  oftc.i   >nly  tern- 


DISEASES  OF  THE   BRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  79 

porarily.     Great  prostration  and  muscular  debility  are  generally 
observed. 

The  seat  of  *  sleepy  staggers,'  or  cerebral  meningitis,  is  the  so- 
called  subarachnoid  cavity,  in  which  is  a  quantity  of  loose  areola 
tissue,  richly  furnished  with  blood-vessels.  It  generally  results 
that  the  exudation  poured  into  this  cavity  is  quickly  accompanied 
or  followed  by  pus.  Hence,  we  find  that  what  is  generally  called 
a  recent  layer  of  coagulable  lymph,  covering  the  convolutions  in 
meningitis,  is,  in  point  of  fact,  a  layer  of  pus,  generally  present- 
ing a  molecular  character.  As  to  the  diagnosis,  notwithstanding 
the  efforts  which  have  been  made  to  distinguish  meningitis  of  the 
convolutions  from  that  of  the  base,  or  either  of  these  from  a  sim- 
ple effusion  into  the  ventricles,  I  have  in  vain  sought  for  any 
precise  symptoms,  which  could  be  relied  on,  as  indicative  of  the 
situation  of  the  disease.  Drowsiness  and  coma,  causing  slow  and 
subsequently  rapid  pulse,  succeeded  by  restlessness.  The  horse 
is  excited ;  he  flings  himself  about,  frequently  jerking  his  head  up 
and  down,  sometimes  rearing,  perhaps,  into  the  manger ;  tension 
of  the  limbs,  thrusting  the  head  into  the  rack.  The  faculties  of 
the  organs  of  sense  are  lost,  for  the  horse  neither  hears  nor  sees. 
The  state  of  excitement  may  terminate,  more  or  less  quickly,  in 
convulsions  and  death,  or  the  patient  may  relapse  into  a  state  of 
coma,  and  ultimately  result  in  partial  or  complete  recovery. 

The  gradual  mode  of  invasion,  and  the  succession  of  the  symp- 
toms to  one  another,  are  also  characteristic,  and  differ  markedly 
in  degree  from  those  which,  attend  sudden  attacks  of  apoplexy 
caused  by  hemorrhage.  They  are  both  the  result  of  general 
pressure  on  the  brain,  and  hence  the  reason  why  mere  effusion  can 
r.ot  be  distinguished  from  hemorrhage." 

Treatment — The  treatment  of  the  preceding  forms  of  acute  dis- 
ease of  the  brain  was  formerly,  and  is  at  present,  to  some  extent, 
conducted  on  the  absurd  antiphlogistic  plan,  by  blood-letting, 
purging,  and  blistering,  which  practice  kills  more  than  it  ever 
cures.  The  plan  now  adopted  by  the  author  is  to  give  drachm 
doses  of  gelseminum  every  four  hours,  until  relief  is  apparent. 
The  cranial  region  is  kept  constantly  bathed  with  cold  water ;  the 
rectum  is  kept  free  from  excrement  by  means  of  injections  of  soap- 
suds ;  the  bowels  are  kept  in  working  order,  by  mixing  Glauber 
salts  with  thin  bran  mashes.  Half  a  pound  of  salts,  dissolved  in 
about  four  quarts  of  mash,  will  generally  prove  laxative.    Should 


KO  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

it  fail  to  have  this  effect,  after  a  lapse  of  about  six  hours,  the  dose 
may  be  repeated.  This  plan  of  treatment  is  more  rational,  and 
has  proved  more  successful,  than  that  just  alluded  to. 

Should  the  disease  progress  so  that  the  animal  manifests  symp- 
toms of  coma,  or  lethargy,  then  chlorate  of  potass  is  the  best, 
agent.  It  should  be  given  in  half-ounce  doses,  every  four  or  six 
hours,  in  the  form  of  drench,  or  it  may  be  dissolved  in  the  watei 
which  the  animal  is  allowed  to  drink.  A  few  doses  of  the  fol- 
lowing preparation  must  also  be  given : 

No.  9.  Fluid  extract  of  golden  seal j  ^^  4  QZ 

Fluid  extract  of  juniper ) 

Mix. 

Dose,  two  ounces  every  morning. 

Keep  the  rectum  empty  by  injections,  and,  if  the  case  be  curable, 
such  treatment  as  this,  followed  up  by  careful  nursing,  will  ac- 
complish the  object.  Copeman,  who  is  authority  in  this  disease, 
fully  indorses  this  treatment,  and  says : 

"  Hitherto  the  treatment  of  meningitis  (sleepy  staggers),  whether 
real  or  supposed,  has  been  antiphlogistic,  but  it  is  impossible  to  say 
that  any  benefit  has  ever  been  effected  by  the  practice.  The  early 
stages  of  the  disease  are  probably  generally  overlooked.  So  long 
as  the  horse  retains  his  appetite  and  his  consciousness,  no  suspicion 
of  disease  arises.  It  is  only  when  exudation  or  effusion  has  been 
poured  out  in  such  quantity  as  to  cause  drowsiness  and  stupor  that 
our  suspicions  are  awakened,  and  thus  it  is  very  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  blood-letting  or  purging  could  facilitate  its  absorption. 
Besides,  we  have  seen  that  the  tendency  of  such  effusion  is  to  pass 
into  the  circulation.  Hence,  the  treatment  which  favors  the  re- 
absorption  of  the  exudation,  as  I  have  previously  explained,  must 
be  most  effectual.  For  this  purpose  time  is  required,  and  the  vital 
strength,  instead  of  being  lowered,  should  be  supported.  Iu  short, 
the  duty  of  the  practitioner  is  to  support  the  economy  as  much  as 
possible,  to  give  nutrients  with  moderate  stimulants,  to  unload  the 
bowels,  from  time  to  time,  artificially,  by  injections,  etc.,  and  in  this 
way  to  gain  time,  which  will  enable  the  effused  matters  to  pass 
through  their  natural  transformations,  to  be  absorbed  and  ulti- 
mately excreted.  It  has  appeared  to  me  that  the  collection  c^ 
serous  fluil,  whether  in  the  ventricles  or  over  the  surface  ot  the 
brain,  either  with  or  without  exudation,  is  consecutive  m  obstruc- 


i  tSEASES  OF  THE  BRAIN   AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  Si 

turn  of  tiie  vessels,  and  is,  therefore,  more  allied  to  the  droi-eies 
than  to  inflammations.  It  is  the  collection  of  serum  which  does 
the  misdhjef- — presses  on  the  brain,  and  causes  the  coma  and  stu- 
por. If  so,  the  occurrence  of  those  symptoms  should  be  regarded 
as  secondary,  instead  of  as  primary,  and  as  analogous  to  ascites, 
dropsy,  or  anasarca,  following  disease  of  the  kidneys.  These 
pathological  considerations  are,  it  appears  to  me,  wholly  opposed 
to  the  idea  of  blood-letting  and  antiphlogistics  being  beneficial 
after  effusion  has  occurred." 

Equine  Chorea,  or  Stringhalt. 

Chorea,  or  stringhalt,  consists  of  an  irregular  and  involuntary 
epasmodic  action  of  some  of  the  muscles  of  the  hind  extremities. 
Equine  chorea  differs  somewhat  from  human  chorea.  In  the  lat- 
ter case,  it  usually  begins  with  slight  twitches  in  the  muscles  of 
the  face,  or  in  the  upper  extremities,  and  various  parts  of  the  body 
twitch  and  contort  in  such  a  singular  and  unnatural  manner, 
that  some  persons  have  denominated  the  disease  "  insanity  of  the 
muscles." 

In  the  case  of  horses,  no  such  "  insanity  of  muscles  "  has  been 
observed.  It  is  mainly  confined  to  the  posterior  limbs.  Mr. 
Feron,  a  distinguished  V.  S.,  contends  that  stringhalt  bears 
some  affinity  to  what  is  known  in  human  medicine  as  chorea,  or 
"  St.  Vitus'  dance."  He  does  not,  however,  wish  to  convey  the 
idea  that  they  are  essentially  the  same  disease,  only  they  are  both 
of  a  convulsive  or  spasmodic  character,  wherein  the  mind,  will, 
or  instinct  has  lost  more  or  less  cf  its  control  over  the  voluntai'5 
muscles  of  the  hind  extremities,  and  the  peculiar  feat  is  thus  ac- 
complished. When  the  animal  has  lifted  his  hind  leg  from  the 
ground,  which  is  always  done  with  a  convulsive  twitch,  the  fet- 
lock nearly  approaches  the  belly,  and,  by  some  other  remarkable 
irregularities  in  its  action,  before  the  foot  can  be  replaced  on  the 
ground,  displays  such  unnatural  movements  as  to  convince  us  that 
volition  is  impaired.  Hence,  we  may  infer  that,  in  a  majority  of 
cases,  stringhalt  is  the  result  of  some  abnormal  condition  of  the 
nervous  system.  What  occasions  that  condition  is  a  matter  of 
fact  and  argument,  which  remains  as  an  open  question  for  some 
future  pathologist  to  decide.  So  far  as  the  author's  experience 
£oes,  he  is  satisfied   from  Actual  dissection  of  the  parts,  that  some 


V2  PADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AM>  SURGERY. 

stringhalt  horses  are  the  subjects  of  ulcerative  disease  of  the  hock- 
joint,  and  they  finally  become  sprained. 

In  such  cases,  it  is  possible  that  stringhalt  may  be  the  result  of 
hock  disease,  which  irritates  the  nerves  in  the  vicinity  of  the  part, 
and  thus  affects  that  portion  of  the  nervous  system  which  controls 
(he  muscles  concerned.  Andral  tells  us  that  "chorea,  like  epi- 
it  p*,r,  may  be  excited  by  irritation."  Hence,  in  the  commencement 
of  sp-ivin,  or  so  soon  as  osseous  incrustations  are  thrown  out,  they 
may,  during  the  active  motion  of  the  joint,  produce  local  irritation, 
cl'  nervous  filaments,  in  the  vicinity,  which  irritation  may  be  com- 
municated to  larger  and  more  important  nerves,  and  thus  induce 
stringhalt. 

AVe  all  know  that  local  irritation  produced  by  the  prick  of  a 
nail,  or  sometimes  docking  and  pricking,  is  often  productive  of 
locked-jaw,  simply  because  some  nervous  or  tendinous  structure 
is  injured;  and  so  the  local  irritation  in  the  region  of  the  hock 
may  be  productive  of  the  malady  now  under  consideration.  The 
author  has  paid  considerable  attention  to  this  subject,  and  is  con- 
vinced that  almost  all  horses  of  the  nervous  or  excitable  tempera- 
ment, the  subjects  of  inter-articular  spavin,  manifest  more  or  less 
oatching-up  of  the  limb  (stringhalt)  at  some  period  during  the 
progress  of  spavin,  and  that  when  the  bones  of  the  hock  are 
anchylosed  (united),  and  the  motion  and  irritation  of  the  parts 
have  ceased,  the  stringhalt  becomes  modified.  The  reader,  how- 
ever, must  not  receive  this  opinion  as  absolute;  for  at  times,  in 
consequence  of  some  peculiar  idiosyncrasy,  the  stringhalt  gradu- 
ally grows  worse.  Among  some  members  of  the  human  family, 
of  the  peculiar  temperament  to  receive  the  impression,  almost  arv 
thing  which  makes  a  forcible  impression  upon  the  nervous  system 
may  act  as  an  exciting  cause  of  chorea.  The  subject  is  a  very 
important  one,  and  most  veterinary  writers  of  the  English  school 
aave  rather  mystified  the  subject,  and  at  last  have  come  .o  the 
conclusion  that  the  disease  is  incurable.  This  was  formerly  ihe 
author's  opinion,  but  a  change  has  taken  place  in  his  sentiments, 
and  he  is  unwilling  to  deprive  the  afflicted  animal  of  the  benefits 
of  progressive  science.  More  light  on  the  subject  may  enable  us 
to  effect  many  cases  of  cure ;  at  least  it  will  enable  us  better  to 
understand  the  pathology  of  the  case,  which  is  an  important 
step  in  the  right  direction.  In  view,  therefore,  of  furnishing  the 
reader  with  some  useful  information,  whether  he  be  a  veterinary 


DISEASES  OF  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  83 

practitioner  or  not,  we  shall  borrow  from  analogy,  in  the  intro- 
duction of  the  following  article  from  "Watson's  Practice"  : 

"  In  certain  of  M.  Magendie's  experiments  on  animals,  tht 
following  curious  facts  were  ascertained :  When  a  vertical  section 
of  the  cerebellum  of  a  rabbit  was  made,  leaving  one-fourth  of  the 
whole  adhering  to  the  crest  of  the  right  side  of  the  cranium,  and 
three-fourths  to  that  of  the  left,  the  animal  rolled  over  and  over 
incessantly,  turning  itself  toward  the  injured  side.  The  same  phe- 
nomenon occurred  upon  the  division  of  the  crus  cerebelli.  The 
animal  lived  for  eight  days,  and  continued,  during  the  whole  of 
that  time,  to  revolve  upon  its  long  axis,  unless  stopped  by  coming 
in  contact  with  some  obstacle.  How  like  is  this  to  the  symp- 
toms exhibited  at  one  period  in  the  girl  whose  case  is  related  by 
Dr.  Watts.  Nor  is  Dr.  Watts's  case  a  singular  one.  M.  Serres 
has  described  another  much  resembling  it.  A  shoemaker,  sixty- 
eight  years  old,  of  intemperate  habits,  after  one  of  his  debauches, 
exhibited  a  kind  of  drunkenness  which  surprised  his  friends. 
Instead  of  seeing  objects  turning  around  him,  as  a  drunken  person 
is  apt  to  do,  he  thought  he  was  himself  turning,  and  soon  began 
to  revolve,  and  this  lasted  till  he  died ;  and  when  his  head  was 
examined,  extensive  mischief  was  found  in  one  of  the  pedicles  of 
his  cerebellum.  Again:  M.  Magendie  noticed  that  when  the 
upper  part  of  the  cerebrum  is  gently  removed  in  birds  and  mam- 
malia, they  become  blind;  but  no  affection  of  the  locomotive 
powers  is  produced.  No  further  result  is  occasioned  by  the  removal 
of  a  portion  of  the  gray  matter  of  the  corpora  striata ;  but  when 
the  striated  part  is  cut  away,  the  animal  immediately  darts  forward 
with  rapidity,  and  continues  to  advance  as  if  impelled  by  some 
irresistible  force,  until  stopped  by  an  obstacle;  and,  even  then,  it 
retains  the  attitude  of  one  advancing.  The  experiment  was  tried, 
with  the  same  results  upon  various  species  of  animals — dogs,  cats, 
hedgehogs,  rabbits,  Guinea-pigs,  and  squirrels.  It  seems  that 
there  are  horses  that  can  not  back,  although  they  make  good 
progress  enough  in  a  straightforward  direction.  Now,  Magendie 
says  that  he  has  opened  the  heads  of  such  horses,  and  has  always 
found  in  the  lateral  ventricles  of  their  brains  a  collection  of  water, 
which  must  have  compressed  and  even  disorganized  the  corpora 
striata.  It  has  been  further  ascertained,  by  the  same  experimenter, 
and  by  others,  that  certain  injuries  of  the  cerebellum  cause  ani- 
mals to  move  backward  contrarily  to  their  will.     If  the  tail  of 


84  DADDS  VETERINARY   MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

the  animal  so  mutilated  be  pinched,  he  still  persists  in  his  retro- 
grade course.  Injuries  of  the  medulla  oblongata  had  the  same 
effect.  Pigeons,  into  which  he  forced  a  pin  through  that  part, 
constantly  receded  for  more  than  a  month,  and  even  flew  back- 
ward. A  section  of  the  medulla  oblongata,  where  it  approaches 
the  anterior  pyramid,  gives  rise  to  a  movement  in  a  circle  like 
that  of  a  horse  in  a  mill,  the  animal,  in  its  walk  cr  its  flight, 
bearing  round  continually  to  the  injured  side.  Surely  we  have, 
in  these  facts,  supplied  by  experiments  on  living  animals,  and  by 
observation  of  the  phenomena  of  disease  in  the  living  human 
body,  some  of  the  materials  for  a  more  exact  knowledge,  both  of 
the  physiology  and  of  the  pathology  of  the  nervous  system,  than 
we  have  reached.  M.  Magendie  supposes  that  different  portions 
of  the  encephalon  are  endowed  with  energies  which  tend  to  cause 
motion  in  various  directions ;  that  in  the  healthy  state  these  bal- 
ance each  other,  and  that  a  preponderating  impulse  can  be  given 
to  any  one  of  these  forces  by  tre  will;  but  that  when  the  equilib- 
rium is  destroyed  by  disease,  tne  will  is  not  sufficient  to  counter- 
act the  tendencies  which  are  then  brought  into  play.  Mr  Mayo 
offers  a  different  explanation  of  the  phenomena.  He  supposes 
that  the  injuries  inflicted  on  the  nervous  matter  produce  a  sensa- 
tion analogous  to  vertigo,  and  that  the  animal  conceives  itself 
either  to  be  hurried  forward,  and  makes  an  exertion  to  repel  im- 
aginary force,  or  to  be  moving  backward,  or  turning  round  in 
one  direction,  and  endeavors  to  correct  this  by  moving  the  corre- 
sponding muscles." 

Treatment. — In  stringhalt,  it  is  nearly  always  safe  for  us  to 
conclude  that  it  must  be  treated  on  the  same  general  principles 
which  obtain  in  the  management  of  other  nervous  disorders  of  a 
chronic  character,  viz .:  in  the  use  of  tonics  and  anti-suasmodics 
Take,  for  example : 

No.  10.  Fluid  extract  of  valerian... j  ,        tg 

Fluid  extract  of  poplar  bark j    ^        r 

Dose,  one  ounce,  morning  and  evening;  to  be  placed  on  the 
tongue.  The  spine  and  affected  limb  or  limbs  should  be  rubbed 
evsry  night,  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  with  a  portion  of  the  following 

No.  11.  Fluid  extract  of  poppies 6  oa. 

Proof  spirit »   1    <  int. 

Mix. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  BRAIN  AND  NERVOUS  SYSTEM.  85 

Should  the  animal  prove  to  be  spavined,  the  following  liniment 
is  recommended : 

No    12.  Cod-liver  oil ) 

Kerosene  oil |  equal  parts. 

Mix. 

A  small  quantity  of  this  liniment  should  be  rubbed  on  the  seat 
ftf  spavin,  inside  of  the  hock,  once  or  twice  daily,  until  counter- 
irritation  is  accomplished,  which  shall  be  known  in  consequence 
of  the  hair  falling  off;  then  discontinue  the  liniment,  and  lubricate 
the  affected  parts  with  olive  oil,  and  wait  patiently,  so  as  to  see 
what  Nature  will  do  for  the  case.  "  Patient  waiters  are  no  losers." 
The  popular,  or  nther  the  ancient,  method  of  treatment  does  more 
harm  than  good. 


SECTION   IV. 


DISEA6ES    OF    THE 


RESPIRATORY 
ORGANS. 


PASSAGES    AND 


Importance  of  Ventilating  Stables — Brief  Exposition  and  Description  of 
the  Function  of  the  Lungs— Spasm  of  the  Muscles  of  the  Glottis  and  Epi- 
glottis—Laryngitis, (Suppurative  and  Inflammatory) — Croup — Chronic 
Cough — Roaring— Polypus — Bronchocele — Influenza,  or  Epizootic  Ca- 
tarrh— Pneumonia,  or  Inflammation  of  the  Lungs,  including  Typhoid 
Affections,  Pleurisy,  and  Dropsy  of  the  Chest. 


Importance  of  Ventilating  Stables,  in  view  op 
preventing  disease  of  the  lungs. 

IT  was  the  intention  of  the  Creator  that  all  animals,  so  long  as 
they  were  permitted  to  exercise  their  natural  instincts,  and 
thus  comply  with  the  requirements  of  physiology — the  science  of 
life — should  enjoy  health  and  long  life.  Hence  a  great  amount 
of  disease  and  death  results  from  the  evils  of  domestication. 

One  of  the  conditions  which  physiology  imposes,  in  order  that 
g  horse  shall  enjoy  health,  is,  that  the  atmosphere,  at  all  times, 
i  nd  under  all  circumstances,  shall  be  uncontaminated,  so  that  the 
blood  shall  be  decarbonized  and  purified  of  the  defiling  elements 
acquired  in  the  course  cf  circulation. 

Let  the  reader  understand  that  the  lungs  are  something  like  a 
sponge,  elastic,  composed  of  a  myriad  of  cells.  In  the  former, 
however,  these  cells  have  a  vast  internal  surface,  communicating 
with  each  other  up  to  their  common  origin,  the  bronchial  tubes 
and  windpipe.  On  their  internal  surface  we  find  a  delicate  yet 
highly  important  membrane  permeable  to  atmosphere.  In  extent, 
it  is  supposed  to  occupy  a  square  surface  equal  to  that  of  the  ex- 
ternal body.  In  contact  with  this  membrane  comes  the  atmos- 
phere. If  pure — zephyr-like — it  fans  into  healthful  blaze  the 
flame  of  life,  upheaving  from  the  living  Vesuvius  arid  lava,  in. 
(86) 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.  87 

the  form  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  almost  as  destructive  to  animaiity 
as  that  issuing  from  its  great  prototype  proves  to  vegetation. 

The  stable  atmosphere  being  pure,  and  the  lungs  in  working 
order,  the  blood  is  well  arterialized,  capable  of  supplying  the 
waste  of  the  animal  machine  and  renovating  its  tissues.  On  the 
other  hand,  should  the  atmosphere  be  impure,  it  fails  to  vitalize 
1he  blood.  The  latter  is  unfit  for  the  purpose  of  nutrition,  and 
jiaj  be  considered  a  non-supporter  of  vitality.  Hence  the  need 
of  pure  air,  the  breath  of  life. 

But  are  horses  always  furnished  with  pure  air  ?  Let  the  own- 
ers of  unventilated,  crowded,  filthy,  down-cellar  and  low-roofed 
stables  answer.  Let  those  who  have  stables  in  the  region  of 
swamp,  sewer,  and  stagnant  pools  of  water  answer.  In  such  lo- 
cations disease  and  death  run  riot,  and  the  noble  companion  of 
man,  instead  of  being  within  the  ramparts  of  the  science  of  life, 
is  on  the  margin  of  death's  domain.  He  may  exist  for  several 
days  without  food  and  water,  yet  the  consequent  result  is  nothing 
when  compared  to  that  occasioned  by  breathing  an  atmosphere 
highly  charged  with  emanations  arising  from  his  own  body  ex- 
crements and  decomposing  bedding. 

A  horse  is  said  to  consume  in  the  lungs,  in  the  course  of  twen- 
/Tour  hours,  ninety-seven  ounces  of  carbon,  furnished  by  venous 
blood.  In  order  to  perform  this  feat,  he  requires  190  cubic  feet 
of  oxygen.  Now,  suppose  there  are  ten  horses  occupying  the  sta- 
ble. They  require,  in  the  same  time,  1,900  cubic  feet  of  oxygen, 
and  consume  970  ounces  of  carbon.  They  are  supposed,  also,  to 
give  out  from  the  lungs  a  volume  of  carbonic  acid  gas  equal  to 
that  of  the  oxygen  inspired  ;  and  supposing  the  atmosphere  to 
be  saturated  with  only  five  per  centum  of  the  former,  it  is  a  non- 
supporter  of  life.  Hence,  a  horse  shut  up  in  an  unventilated 
si  able  must,  sooner  or  later,  become  the  subject  of  disease.  The 
evil  may  be  postponed,  but  the  day  of  reckoning  is  sure  and  cer- 
tain. 

Diseases,  such  as  horse-ail,  influenza,  catarrh,  strangles,  and 
glanders,  often  originate  and  prevail  to  an  alarming  extent  in 
the  unventilated  stable  and  pest  spot;  while  in  other  locations, 
favorable  to  the  free  and  full  play  of  vital  operations,  the  favored 
ones  seem  to  enjoy  a  remarkable  immunity  from  the  prevailing 
disease,  or  epizootic. 

Stablemen  and  husbandmen  are  often  led  to  remark,  that  when 


'•it  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

they  keep  but  few  animals,  disease  and  death,  except  in.  cases  of 
accident  or  old  age,  are  quite  rare,  but  so  soon  as  t\ej  crowded 
the  same,  sickness  and  death  were  the  consequence  In  view  of 
supporting  this  theory,  we  may  be  permitted  ic  remark  that  ship 
and  jail  fevers  may  be  manufactured  ad  WAtom,  at  any  time  when 
a  large  number  of  persons  are  congregated  together  in  a  given 
space,  no  provision  having  been  made  /or  the  admission  of  pure 
air.  The  unfortunate  prisoners  in  fra  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta 
are  an  example,  and  the  mortality  occurring  on  board  o<r.  emi- 
grant ships  furnishes  another  illuu' ration. 

A  number  of  horses  were  once  shipped  from  England  'a  Spain, 
and  on  the  passage,  a  violent  gale  arising,  it  became  r pessary  to 
batten  down  the  hatchway.  The  consequence  was  that  most  of 
them  ultimately  died  of  either  glanders  or  farcy.  We  contend, 
therefore,  that  the  active  or  morbid  germ  of  disease  enters  the 
living  citadel  through  the  pulmonary  tissue  in  an  insidious  mar- 
ner,  and,  therefore,  much  oftener  than  the  generality  of  men 
would  be  likely  to  realize.  Therefore,  it  is  a  matter  of  vital  im- 
portance that  attention  be  paid  to  the  ventilation  of  our  stable,'?. 
If  proper  sanitary  regulations  were  established,  and  fully  carried 
out  in  all  our  stables,  glanders  and  other  infectious  diseases  woul  i 
be  exceedingly  rare.  They  are  so  among  horses  free  from  the 
control  of  man,  whose  stalls  are  broad  as  from  ocean  to  oceai , 
their  height  ranging  from  earth  to  regions  above,  the  space  pei  ■ 
vaded  by  a  pure  atmosphere  concocted  by  the  Great  Chemist,  pui  e 
as  the  pearly  drops  and  refreshing  as  the  morning  zephyr.  I» 
such  locations  death  has  no  terrors  nor  disease  any  victims. 

Brief  Exposition  of  the  Function  of  the  Lungs. 

The  principal  function  of  the  lungs  is  to  arterialize  or  decar 
bonize  the  blood ;  that  is,  purify  it.  This  arterialization  of  the 
blood,  which  goes  the  rounds  of  the  circulation,  is  more  essential 
to  life  than  either  food  or  water ;  for  men  and  animals  can  exist 
for  several  days,  perhaps  for  two  weeks,  without  food,  yet  the 
same  can  not  live  over  a  few  seconds  unless  supplied  with  a  suffi- 
ciency of  atmospheric  air.  Hence,  in  a  popular  sense,  pure  air  is 
the  "  breath  of  life." 

The  functional  acts  of  respiration  are  .necessarily  divided  into 
two  parts  •  and  in  cattle  the  number  of  respirations  are  about 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS. 


39 


twelve  per  minute,  varying,  however,  according  to  the  tempera- 
ment of  the  animal  and  the  condition  he  may  be  in  at  the  time 
of  making  the  observation ;  while  in  horses  the  respirations  are 
more  frequent,  varying  in  health,  and  when  at  rest,  from  fourteen 
to  twenty-five ;  yet,  under  excitement  and  disease,  they  sometimes 
number  over  one  hundred. 


THE  CONTENTS  OF  THE  THOBAX. 

HULahatioh.— Fig.  1,  Trachea  ;  2,  Bifurcation  of  the  carotid  artery ;  3,  Internal  carotid  artery  ; 
4  4,  Anterior  lobes  of  the  lungs:  5  5  Posterior  lobes  of  the  lungs;  6,  The  heart;  7,  Coronary 
artery;  8,  Cartilages  of  the  false  ribs;  9,  The  diaphragm. 


When  an  animal  is  located  in  a  pure  atmosphere,  and  the 
lungs  are  in  good  working  condition,  all  the  impurities  contained 
in  venous  blood  are  brought  into  the  presence  of  oxygen  through 
the  lining  membrane  of  the  air-cells,  and  thus  a  change  in  the 
color  and  character  of  the  blood  is  immediatelv  effected.  In  the 
irist  place,  the  venous  blood,  as  it  appeared  before  having  been 
submitted  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  was  of  a  dark  purple 


9C  DADD'S  VETERINARY'  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

oolor  By  union  with  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere,  \t  has 
changed  its  color  to  one  of  scarlet.  INIext,  the  union  of  oxygen 
with  the  carbon  of  the  blood  liberates  carbonic  acid  gas  and  vapor. 
The  blood  is  now  fit  for  circulation  and  for  the  renovation  of  the 
tissues.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  as  carbon  exists  in  the  venous 
blood,  the  lungs  must  be  the  pulmonary  furnaces.  The  air-cells 
are  flues  or  safety-valves,  the  membrane  of  the  cells  being  per- 
meable to  oxygen,  yet  suffers  not  the  blood  to  escape.  Pulmonary 
combustion,  therefore,  bears  some  analogy  to  the  combustion  of 
carbon  or  charcoal  in  a  stove ;  for,  in  that  case,  the  oxygen  causes 
the  generation  or  evolution  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

Brief  Description  of  the  Anatomy  of  the*  Lungs. 

The  lungs,  in  common  parlance,  are  known  as  the  lights.  They 
occupy  the  thoracic  cavity,  or  chest.  They  are  divided  into  right 
and  left  lobes,  with  a  septum  or  partition  between,  which  makes 
a  double  organ.  This  partition  is  a  duplicature  of  the  pleura,  or 
membrane  which  completely  lines  the  chest.  When  the  lungs 
are  healthy  and  properly  inflated,  they  occupy  the  whole  cavity  of 
the  chest;  but  when  an  action  of  expiration  is  effected,  they  are  in 
a  comparative  state  of  collapse,  occupying  but  a  very  small  portion 
of  the  thoracic  cavity.  The  lungs  are  composed  of  arteries,  vein?, 
.ibsorbents,  bronchial  tubes,  air-cells,  and  also  what  is  known  as 
their  parenchyma,  or  substance.  A  healthy  lung,  when  thrown 
into  water,  will  float  on  the  surface •  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
diseased  lung,  in  a  state  of  hepatization  or  condensation,  sinks  like 
a  stone.  In  the  fetal  state,  and  when  the  lungs  have  never  been 
inflated,  they  also  sink  when  thrown  into  water. 

Spasm  of  the  Muscles  of  the  Glottis  and  Epiglottis. 

The  aperture  leading  into  the  larynx  and  windpipe  is  termed 
the  glottis.  Spasm  of  the  muscles  of  the  glottis  is  one  of  the  most 
terrible  accidents  that  can  possibly  occur  in  either  man  or  horse 
I  view  it  in  the  light  of  an  accident,  because  it  usually  occur:? 
without  warning  or  any  other  premonitory  symptoms,  selecting  its 
victims  in  the  very  prime  of  life,  and  carrying  them  off,  usually, 
in  the  course  of  a  very  few  seconds.  The  terms  cramp  and  spasm 
mean  the  same  thing.     When  a  man,  while  bathing  in  the  river 


^> 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.  oi 

or  sea,  is  suddenly  seized  with  cramp,  it  is  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  spasm  of  the  flexor  muscles  of  his  limbs.  Sometimes,  how 
ever,  the  extensor  muscles  are  affected.  In  either  case,  unless 
assistance  "be  at  hand,  the  person  is  apt  to  find  a  watery  grave. 
Cramp  or  spasm  of  the  intestines  is  the  same  form  of  affection, 
only  it  is  confined  to  the  muscular  fibers  of  the  intestines ;  and 
whenever  it  occurs  in  the  limbs  or  intestines,  it  is  always  accom- 
panied by  excruciating  pain  and  torment. 

Treatment. — As  regards  spasm  of  the  muscles  of  the  glottis,  it  is 
very  apt  to  prove  fatal,  either  in  consequence  of  lack  of  knowledge 
of  the  proper  mode  of  treatment,  or  in  failing  to  apply  the  remedy 
which  the  urgency  of  the  case  demands.  I  allude  to  the  operation 
of  tracheotomy,  which  consists  of  making  an  incision  into  the 
windpipe  and  inserting  a  tube  into  the  same.  A  tube  may  not 
always  be  at  hand,  but  this  must  not  deter  us  from  operating ;  for, 
by  some  means  or  other,  air  must  be  admitted,  even  if  it  be  neces- 
sary to  dissect  out  a  piece  of  the  trachea,  which  I  always  do  in  the 
case  of  a  horae,  whether  I  have  a  tube  by  me  or  not.  Very  little 
pain  attends  the  operation,  and  that  only  occurs  when  cutting 
through  the  »kin ;  for  the  windpipe,  being  composed  of  cartilage, 
is  comparatively  insensible.  It  may  be  policy,  when  the  subject 
is  not  in  immediate  peril  of  his  life,  to  resort  to  some  counter- 
irritant  and  antispasmodic  liniment  (equal  parts  of  spirits  of 
camphor  and  tincture  of  lobelia) ;  but  when  the  danger  is  immi- 
nent, and  the  finger  of  Death  is  plainly  on  the  patient,  we  only 
waste  p-ecious  moments  in  the  use  of  outward  applications. 

The  following  case,  reported  by  J.  B.  Dobson,  Y.  S.,  may  pos- 
sibly prove  both  interesting  and  instructive  to  some  of  our  readers : 

"  At  night  a  messenger  came,  saying  the  horse  was  very  ill. 
Upon  entering  the  stable,  the  animal  presented  the  following 
symptoms:  He  was  stretched  out  his  full  length  in  the  stable, 
apparently  in  the  agonies  of  suffocation ;  and  such  was  the  difficulty 
attending  respiration  that  he  positively  screamed,  in  performing 
the  act,  so  as  to  be  heard  at  some  considerable  distance.  I  had 
not  been  with  him  many  seconds,  however,  before  he  was  slightly 
relieved,  and  in  about  ten  minutes  the  spasm  passed  off,  leaving 
him,  witu  the  exception,  of  course,  of  great  exhaustion,  otherwise 
•as  well  as  ever.  Viewing  the  case  as  one  of  spasm  of  the  muscles 
of  the  glottis,  I  applied  stimulants,  and  crdered  constant  fomen- 
tations to  the  larynx,  and  left    .im  with  directions  to  be  closely 


92  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURCiEKV 

watched,  in  case  the  spasm  might  return.  In  the  middle  of  ft 
night  I  was  again  called,  in  haste;  and  this  time  the  breathing 
seemed,  if  possible,  worse  than  before,  and  it  was  evident  that,  if 
no  relief  were  afforded,  the  animal  must  soon  be  suffocated.  I 
accordingly,  with  some  difficulty,  owing  to  his  struggles,  per- 
formed tracheotomy.  The  relief  was  instantaneous,  and  he  was 
soon  on  his  legs,  and  anxious  to  feed.  From  this  time  the  trach- 
eotomy tube  was  kept  in  his  throat  for  a  week,  when,  considering 
that  the  glottis  might  have  resumed  its  normal  functions,  I  placed 
a  cork  in  the  orifice  of  the  tube  and  sent  him  to  work,  as  an 
experiment,  ordering  the  cork  to  be  removed  if  any  symptom 
of  suffocation  should  come  on.  We,  however,  found  that  the 
slightest  effort  at  exertion  brought  on  a  fit  of  bad  breathing,  and 
it  became  evident  that  he  would  not  work  without  the  tube. 
The  horse  was  accordingly  sent  to  his  regular  work  with  the  tube 
in  his  trachea,  and,  for  three  or  four  months,  he  did  his  accus- 
tomed labor  with  it  in.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  however,  by 
an  accident,  the  tube  fell  out,  when  he  was  some  miles  from 
home,  and  the  horse  coming  home  tolerably  well  without  it,  the 
horse-keeper  neglected  to  inform  me  of  it  for  a  day  or  two,  and 
when  I  saw  my  patient,  the  aperture  in  the  muscles  of  the  neck 
had  closed.  As  the  horse  now  seemed  to  work  well  without  the 
tracheotomy  tube,  it  was  not  reinserted,  and  from  that  time  to 
this  (more  than  two  years)  he  had  not  another  attack." 

Should  a  case  of  this  kind  occur,  and  the  consulted  party  have 
no  tube  at  hand,  he  must  pass  a  ligature  through  each  side  of 
the  orifice,  including  a  portion  of  skin  and  muscles.  Each  liga- 
ture is  then  to  be  passed  over  opposite  sides  of  the  neck,  and  tied 
at  the  upper  part,  just  tight  enough  to  keep  the  lips  of  the 
wound  apart.  In  this  way  air  is  admitted  into  the  windpipe, 
and  thus  the  animal  is  out  of  danger. 

Laryngitis  (Suppurative  and  Inflammatory). 

Laryngitis  signifies  inflammation  of  the  lining  membrane  of 
the  larynx.  On  applying  the  ear  to  the  region  of  the  throat,  the 
locality  of  the  affection  is  very  evident,  from  the  fact  that  no  such 
embarrassed  sound  can  be  elicited  in  the  lower  part  of  the  wind- 
pipe. Hence  it  must  be  inferred  that  the  disease  is  located  in 
the  upper,  or  superior,  passage  of  respiration 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS. 


'•■■      .  .    ■■    • 

TBACHEOTOMT  TUBE   IJJSEBTED   IN  THE  WINDPIPB. 


The  inflammatory  condition  exists  during  a  limited  period, 
varying  from  one  to  five  days.  Then  commences  the  suppura- 
tive stage,  which  is  accompanied  by  a  copious  discharge,  from 
both  nostrils,  of  a  secretion  somewhat  resembling  pus,  or  matter. 

Causes. — As  regards  the  special  cause  of  this  affection  very  lit- 
tle is  known.  It  may  be  supposed,  however,  to  originate  in  a 
common  cold,  or  catarrh;  yet  it  is  well  known  that  horses  are 
sometimes  attacked  with  it  that  are  not  exposed  to  the  ordinary 
influences  which  induce  a  catarrhal  affection.  Therefore  we  may 
infer  that  such  disease  will  occasionally  occur,  either  spontane- 
ously or  accidentally,  as  the  case  may  be,  in  spite  of  our  best 
efforts  to  prevent  it.  As  the  old  saying  is,  "  Nature  is  ever  busy 
in  maintaining  the  integrity  of  the  vital  forces  of  the  animal 
economy.  Any  deviation  from  the  prescribed  laws  which  physi- 
ology imposes  is  a  sure  and  certain  cause  of  disease." 

I  now  propose  to  introduce  a  case  which,  at  the  time  of  its  oc- 
currence, attracted  much  attention  and  curi^iiy,  both  on  account 


iJ4  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

of  the  great  value  of  the  animal,  and  the  desperate  state  of  the 
ease  at  the  time  it  fell  into  my  hands.     It  will  also  serve  to  in- 
dorse the  old  aphorism  that  "  where  there  is  life  there  is  hope." 
Record,  of  the  Case. — The  patient  was  a  Patchen  colt,  aged  four 
years,  a  very  handsome  and  promising  animal.     He  was  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  McPherson,  of  this  city,  for  the  sum  of  two 
thousand  dollars,  and,  at  the  time  of  his  sickness,  was  considered 
worth  three  thousand.     But  disease  neither  respects  man  nor 
horse.     Each  have,  once  in  awhile,  to  suffer  and  groan,  swallow 
drugs  and  get  well,  or  die,  as  the  case  may  be.     And  as  regards 
the  horse,  the  more  costly  shall  he  be,  the  more  likely  is  he  to 
get  sick,  from  the  fact  that  valuable  horses  are  almost  always 
overfed  and  petted,  and  receive  too  much  care  and  attention.     On 
arriving  at  the  stable  where  the  animal  was  located,  I  found  him 
in  a  dangerous  condition.     He  appeared  to  be  gasping  for  breath. 
A  loud  stertorous  noise,  which  could  be  heard  at  some  distance, 
indicated  the  nature  of  the  difficulty  as  depending  on  obstruc- 
tion within  the  larynx.     The  pulse  at  the  angle  of  the  jaw  was 
very  indistinct.     Both  pupils  of  the  eyes  were  dilated,  or  in  a, 
state  of  amaurosis.     The  extremities  and  external  surface  of  the. 
body  were  deathly  cold.     The  tongue  and  visible  mucous  surfaces', 
were  livid,  indicating  speedy  death.     Once  in  awhile  the  animal 
would  be  seized  with  a  convulsive  or  spasmodic  fit  of  coughing, 
which,  every  time,  seemed  to  threaten  his  life.     In  those  fits  of 
coughing  he  passed  from  the  nostrils  a  sort  of  cheesy  matter, 
which  appeared  to  be  mixed  up  with  a  diphtherial  exudation — 
yellow  secretion  and  froth.     Under  the  above  circumstances,  any 
attempt  to  administer  medicine  was  deemed  unsafe.     I  there- 
fore decided  to  perform  the  operation  known  as  tracheotomy, 
which  was  done,  in  the  following  manner :     Having  secured  the 
services  of  a  couple  of  assistants,  the  horse  was  led  to  a  conven- 
ient spot  in  the  center  of  the  stable.     An  incision  was  then  made 
through  the  skin,  to  expose  the  trachea,  about  midway  between 
the  jaws  and  breast-bone.     The  trachea  was  now  punctured  by 
means  of  a  pointed  scalpel,  and  a  probe-pointed  bistoury  was  used 
to  dissect  out  a  piece  of  the  windpipe,  corresponding  to  the  size  of 
the  tracheotomy  tube.     This  tube,  after  being  inserted  into  the 
windpipe,  was  secured  in  place  by  means  of  elastic  tape,  which  was 
passed  around  the  neck  and  tied.     On  the  introduction  of  trie 
tube  the  alarming  symptoms  immediately  subsided,  and  th<>  act 


DISEASES  UF  RESPIRATOR?  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.  95 

of  breathing  was  performed  through  the  tube.  I  then  applied  a 
counter-irrkant  to  the  throat,  composed  of  cod-liver  oil  and  spirits 
of  camphor,  equal  parts;  ordered  a  warm  bran  mash,  into  which 
was  sprinkled  one  ounce  of  powdered  chlorate  of  potass. 

For  several  days  a  very  copious  discharge  from  both  nostrils 
occurred;  also  from  the  orifice  made  in  the  windpipe;  so  that  the 
tracheotomy  tube  had  to  be  removed  and  cleansed  several  times, 
}<oia  during  the  day  and  night.  Four  days  after  the  operation, 
at  mght,  the  tube  accidentally  slipped  out  of  the  windpipe,  and 
the  mishap  was  not  discovered  until  morning,  when  I  found  that 
air  from  the  lungs  had  escaped  into  the  cellular  tissue,  and  in- 
flated it  so  that  the  soft  parts  in  the  region  of  the  neck  and  head 
appeared  much  swollen.  I  gave  the  patient,  twice  daily,  one 
ounce  of  hyposulphite  of  soda,  and  had  the  swollen  parts  well 
rubbed  with  liniment.  On  the  fifth  day  I  removed  the  tube  from 
the  windpipe,  and  allowed  the  animal  to  breathe  through  the  arti- 
ficial opening,  he  still  being  unable  to  respire  through  the  nostrils. 
At  the  expiration  of  fifteen  days  from  the  commencement  of  the 
animal's  sickness,  the  wound  in  the  windpipe  was  closed,  natural 
respiration  having  been  restored.  During  the  treatment  of  the 
patient,  he  was  allowed,  occasionally,  flaxseed  tea,  with  about  one 
ounce  of  chlorate  of  potass  per  day.  He  had  good  attention,  or, 
rather,  good  nursing,  and  finally  was  again  restored  to  usefulness. 

In  the  early  stage  of  laryngitis,  or,  rather,  the  inflammatory 
stage,  cold  water  bandages  should  be  applied  to  the  throat,  and 
a  few  doses  of  fluid  extract  of  gelseminum,  at  the  rate  of  one 
fluid  drachm  per  dose. 

Croup  (Cynanche  Trachealis). 

Croup  (cynanche  trachealis),  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  termed, 
tracheitis,  manifests  itself  in  the  form  of  a  violent  and  sudden 
disease  affecting  the  mucous  membrane  of  that  portion  of  the 
air-passages  which  lies  between  the  laryngeal  cartilages  and  the 
primary  passages  of  the  trachea,  or  windpipe.  Condie  contends 
that,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  the  inflammation  in  croup  com- 
mences in  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  larynx,  and  from  thence 
extends-  into  the  trachea.  The  disease  is,  therefore,  strictly  speak- 
ing, a  Isiryngeo-tracheitis.  In  many  instances,  however,  we  have 
reason  ic  beliave  that  the  inflammation  commences  in  thebrcncbi, 


CS  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

and  from  thence  extends  to  the  trachea ;  but  there  are,  we  suspect, 
eery  few  cases  indeed,  if  any,  in  which  the  disease  is  confined  to 
the  trachea.  In  cases  of  croup  that  have  terminated  rapidly  in 
death,  the  inflammation  and  pseudo-membranous  exudation  which 
form  so  striking  a  feature  in  this  disease  are  found  only  in  the 
larynx  and  upper  portion  of  the  trachea.  When  death  occurs  at 
a  later  period,  the  exudation  is  often  present  in  the  trachea  alone^ 
or  in  the  trachea  and  bronchi.  It  is  never  found  to  exist  in  the 
latter  tubes  alone.  It  has  been  attempted  to  be  shown,  by  Juein 
and  others,  that  in  the  ordinary  form  of  croup  the  disease  is,  in  its 
first  stages  at  least,  simply  a  tracheitis,  and  that  in  the  more  vio- 
lent and  rapid  form  (suffocating  croup)  the  inflammation  is  con- 
fined to  the  larynx.  Although  this  is  not  strictly  true,  as  is  proved 
by  the  result  of  numerous  dissections,  yet  our  observations  have 
shown  us  that  in  cases  marked  by  symptoms  of  great  violence, 
which  are  sudden  in  their  onset  and  rapid  in  their  progress,  the 
indications  of  inflammation  are  to  a  much  greater  extent,  and  the 
pseudo-membranous  exudation  more  copious  about  the  larynx,  glot 
tis,  and  upper  portion  of  the  trachea,  than  in  cases  in  which  the 
disease  succeeds  to  bronchitis,  runs  a  more  protracted  course,  and 
is  attended  by  symptoms  of  less  violence. 

The  disease  generally  makes  its  appearance  during  the  latter 
part  of  winter  and  in  early  spring,  and  most  frequently  occurs 
among  horses  just  introduced  to  city  life.  The  subjects  such  as 
the  author  has  had  occasion  to  treat  were  young,  most  of  them  of 
the  lymphatic  temperament,  having  short,  thick  necks,  which 
abounded  in  a  profuse  development  of  adipose  and  cellular  tissues, 
which  results  in  a  rotund  bodily  conformation.  This,  perhaps, 
goes  to  show  that  some  hereditary  idiosyncrasy  plays  a  part  in  the 
creation  of  the  disease. 

Causes. — The  indirect  causes  of  the  disorder  are  embraced  among 
the  evils  of  domestication,  which  include  errors  in  diet,  impure 
air,  and  bad  management.  It  usually  dates  its  origin  from  what 
are  generally  considered  as  the  causes  of  common  cold.  Several 
days  previous  to  the  attack,  the  animal  appears  "  dumpish,"  drowsy, 
and  inactive,  having  little  desire  for  artificial  food,  and  less  for 
water.  The  eyes  appear  somewhat  tumefied,  and  the  respirations 
are  laborious,  having  a  peculiar,  croupy  sound,  accompanied  by  a 
distressing  cough. .  The  respirations  can  be  heard  at  a  distance  (as 
the  disease  progresses);  and  on  making  pressure  in  the  region  of 


DISEASES   OF   RESPIRATORY    PASSAGES    AND   ORGANS.         97 

the  larynx,  the  animal  evinces  signs  of  uneasiness,  suffocation,  and 
pain.  Soon  the  mucous,  schneiderian,  and  conjunctivial  mem- 
branes become  reddened,  the  eyes  protrude,  the  tongue  tumefies, 
and  external  tumefaction  in  the  region  of  the  throat  may  be  ob 
served.  Febrile  symptoms  are  also  present,  manifested  by  cold- 
ness of  the  exterior  and  increased  temperature  of  the  interior 
parts.  The  nose  appears  dry,  and  the  mouth  is  full  of  frothy  saliva 
(sometimes  lymphy  mucus),  and  some  difficulty  is  encountered  in 
opening  the  latter. 

History  of  the  Disease. — The  following  case,  from  the  author^ 
note-book,  will  probably  prove  interesting  to  the  reader:  The 
patient,  a  roan  mare,  aged  seven.  Temperament,  lymphatic. 
Just  arrived,  in  company  with  several  other  horses,  from  Ohio. 
The  property  of  Mr.  Banford,  Merrimac  stable,  Boston.  Our 
patient  had  been  "ailing"  some  three  or  four  days  before  our 
services  were  secured,  at  which  time  she  was  laboring  under 
"  alarming  symptoms  "  bordering  on  suffocation.  The  pulse  was 
indistinct,  small,  thready,  and  difficult  to  number,  yet  probably 
exceeded  sixty.  The  breathing  was  croupy,  or  stertorous,  and 
could  be  heard  at  a  distance  of  several  yards.  The  nostrils  were 
dilated,  and  from  them  issued  a  lymphy  discharge,  mixed  with  traces 
of  blood.  The  submaxillary  space  was  somewhat  tumefied,  hard, 
unyielding,  and  seemed  to  constrict  the  larynx  and  its  associate 
muscles.  The  eyes  were  prominent,  their  membranes  congested, 
and  streaks  of  tears  escaped  over  the  inner  canthus.  The  flanks 
were  bedewed  with  a  cold,  clammy  perspiration.  The  tips  of  th« 
ears  were  quite  cold,  and  the  limbs  the  same.  Auscultation,  1a 
the  region  of  the  larynx,  revealed  a  very  laborious  and  crepitating 
mucous  rale.  The  trachea  itself  seemed  to  be  free  from  obstruc- 
tion. Thoracic  auscultation  elicited  nothing  tending  t»e  diow  that 
the  lungs  were  involved. 

The  patient  appeared  to  be  in  a  deplorable,  in  fact  dying,  con- 
dition, making  a  sort  of  gasping  effort  to  inflate  the  lungs.  There 
was  little  time  to  spare;  and  being  satisfied  that  the  larynx 
was  the  seat  of  obstruction,  we  immediately  cut  down  upon  the 
trachea,  about  five  inches  below  the  thyroid  cartilage,  and  ampu- 
tated, from  between  two  rings  of  the  trachea,  a  piece,  of  an  oval 
shape,  corresponding  in  size  to  the  caliber  of  Arnold's  tracheotomy 
tube,  which  was  the  instrument  used  on  this  occasion.  So  soon 
«a  the  opening  into  the  trachea  was  effected,  the  patient  experi- 


9fc  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

enced  instantaneous  relief  from  suffocation,  and  all  dangei  from 
the  same  seemed  to  have  immediately  passed  away.  The  tube 
was  now  introduced  and  secured  around  the  neck  in  the  usual 
manner,  after  which  the  patient  received  an  aloetic  enema,  and 
had  a  strong  counter-irritant  applied  to  the  submaxillary  space 
and  throat,  after  which  the  fauces  were  swabbed  with  a  weak 
solution  of  alum,  by  means  of  sponge  secured  to  a  piece  of  whale 
bone.  On  examining  the  "swab,"  a  sort  of  lymphy  or  albumin « 
ous  concretion  adhered  to  it;  the  mucous  membrane  of  ths  larynx 
was  either  injected  or  cedematous.  The  pharynx  was  not  involved, 
as  the  animal,  shortly  after  the  operation,  drank  two  quarts  of 
water,  containing  two  drachms  of  nitrate  potassa. 

The  tube  remained  within  the  trachea  for  a  period  of  five  day;, 
during  which  time  very  little  occurred  worth  recording,  except 
that  one  night  pneumatosis  (distension  of  the  cellular  membrane 
with  air)  appeared,  which  yielded  to  a  dose  of  hyposulphite  of 
soda  and  an  outward  application  oi  liquor  ammonia  acetatis;  and, 
also,  on  the  fifth  day,  a  submaxillary  tumor  was  punctured,  which 
discharged  freely.  At  the  end  of  the  above  period,  it  was  ascer- 
tained, by  holding  a  lighted  lamp  to  the  nostrils,  at  the  same  time 
stopping  up  the  orifice  in  the  instrument,  that  the  animal  breathed 
through  the  usual  channel.  Then  the  instrument  was  removed, 
the  parts  cleansed,  and  secured  together  by  suture.  The  wounds 
healed  by  the  usual  process,  and,  at  the  end  of  three  weeks,  the 
animal  was  disposed  of,  and  went  to  work. 

The  operation  of  tracheotomy,  formidable  as  it  may  appear  to 
some,  is  unattended  with  danger;  yet,  like  every  other  process  of 
surgery  or  medicine,  is  only  calculated  to  relieve  certain  states 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  remedy.  For  example,  the  operation  is 
admissible  in  cases  of  nasal  obstruction,  from  the  presence  of  nasal 
polypus  or  other  causes;  spasm  of  the  larynx,  threatening  su (lo- 
cation; suppurative  laryngitis,  when  the  animal  is  in  great  dis- 
tress for  "  breath ; "  and  in  case  of  any  foreign  body  occupying  I  he 
larynx,  which  precludes  the  possibility  of  continuing  the  process 
of  respiration.  On  the  other  hand,  the  operation  is  worse  than 
useless  in  cases  of  lung  difficulty,  bronchial  obstruction,  or  when 
obstruction  occurs  within  the  traohea  posterior  to  the  usual  point 
selected  fcr  the  operation. 


diseases  of  respiratory  passages  akb  organs.        99 

Cough  in  its  Chronic  and  Acute  Stage. 

Accordiug  to  veterinary  jurisprudence,  a  cough,  so  long  as  it 
insts,  renders  the  animal  unsound ;  hence  it  is  very  important  that 
we  should  know  something  about  its  cause,  nature,  and  treat- 
ment. 0' ironic  cough  is  often  the  result  of  indiscretion  in  the 
treatment  of  influenza,  distemper,  and  disease  of  the  respiratory 
apparatus.  It  usually  depends  on  a  morbid  and  irritable  condition 
of  the  membrane  found  on  the  interior  of  the  respiratory  passages. 
The  cough  is  generally  aggravated  by  over-exertion,  especially 
when  the  roads  are  dusty.  Food  of  an  inferior  quality,  and  that 
of  a  musty  character,  has  the  same  effect. 

It  is  generally  supposed,  by  those  persons  who  have  not  had  the 
benefit  of  a  medical  education,  that  the  presence  of  acute  or  chronic 
cough  indicates  diseased  lungs,  or  disease  in  some  parts  of  the 
organs  of  respiration.  But  this  is  not  always  the  case;  for,  when- 
ever the  liver  becomes  diseased,  the  subject  is  very  apt  to  be  tor- 
mented with  a  harrassing  cough,  which  lasts  as  long  as  that  organ 
shall  be  the  seat  of  disease.  However,  there  are  several  symptoms 
to  be  observed  in  cases  of  functional  or  organic  disease  of  the  liver 
which  are  not  present  in  lung  disease ;  hence  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  the  way  of  making  a  correct  diagnosis.  And  for  the  benefit 
of  the  non-professional,  the  author  would  inform  them  that,  in  all 
cases  of  liver  disease,  a  marked  yellow  tinge  will  be  observed  on 
the  visible  surfaces  within  the  mouth ;  the  tongue  slightly  coated ; 
the  dung  unusually  dark  colored,  and  voided  in  hardened  lumps, 
and  the  urine  also  of  a  dark  yellow  color. 

Treatment  of  Ohronic  Cough. — Give  the  patient  daily  one  ounce 
of  the  fluid  extract  of  Indian  hemp  (foreign),  and  offer  him  occa- 
sionally some  flaxseed  tea ;  or  sprinkle  in  his  food,  every  night,  a 
handful  of  unground  flaxseed.  Should  this  fail  to  effect  a  cure, 
prepare  the  following : 

No.  13.  Fluid  extract  of  bloodroot 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  pleurisy-root 6  oz. 

Common  syrup ^  piut 

Mix. 

Dose,  two  ounces  per  day. 

The  acute  cough  may  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  above, 
by  substituting  for  the  syrup  half  a  pint  of  syrup  of  squills. 
In  the  case  of  liver  disease,  accompanied  by  cough,  give  the 


1(30  DADD'S  VE'JLRINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

animal  one  ounce  of  fluid  extract  of  mandrake  every  six  noursA 
until  it  operates  on  the  bowels,  or  the  membranes  of  the  mouth 
lose  their  yellow  tinge. 

Roaring. 

Roaring  is  usually  the  result  of  structural  alterations  within 
the  larynx,  or  upper  part  of  the  windpipe  bordering  on  the 
trachea.  In  mild  cases  of  roaring,  we  usually  find  a  thickened 
state  of  the  membrane  lining  the  upper  portion  of  the  respiratory 
passage ;  and  when  roaring  is  occasioned  by  thickening  of  this 
membrane,  its  degree  depends  on  the  ratio  of  decrease  in  the  cali- 
ber of  the  tube  breathed  through.  Roaring  is  a  very  aristocratic 
disease.  Many  of  the  very  best  and  fastest  horses  in  England 
were,  and  are  now,  notorious  roarers.  "  Flying  Childers,"  as  faiit 
a  horse  as  ever  wore  horseshoes,  was  one  of  the  worst  roarers  evci 
known.  The  story  runs  that  when  "  Childers  "  was  at  full  speed, 
his  roaring  resembled  juvenile  thunder  !  He  could  be  heard  when 
distant  half  a  mile ! 

The  worst  form  of  this  disease  is  whistling.  This  is  the  shai  p 
shrill  note  not  only  occasioned  by  the  thickening  of  the  lining 
membrane  of  the  primary  passages  of  respiration,  but  by  altera- 
tions in  the  form  and  structure  of  the  larynx,  the  larynx  being, 
in  popular  language,  known  as  the  "  voice-box." 

Roaring  is  more  prevalent  among  stallions  than  mares  and 
geldings,  and  the  kind  of  horse  most  subject  to  it  is  the  one  hav- 
ing a  thick,  chunky  neck,  and  having  the  angles  of  the  jaws  in 
very  close  proximity  with  the  neck.  Roaring  scarcely,  if  ever, 
admits  of  a  radical  cure ;  and  when  of  a  hereditary  or  congenital 
origin,  a  cure  is  impossible.  A  roarer  should  never  be  incum- 
bered with  a  check-rein ;  for  it  has  the  effect  of  causing  undue 
pressure  on  the  larynx,  and  thus  augments  the  difficulty.  Roaring 
can,  however,  be  relieved  by  an  operation  known  as  tracheotomy, 
which  is  performed  at  a  point  a  few  inches  below  the  larynx. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Imperial  and  Central  Society  of  Veteri- 
nary Medicine,  M.  Leblanc  read  a  communication  on  tracheot- 
omy which  was  performed  on  a  carriage  horse.  The  operation 
had  been  performed  because  the  horse  was  a  severe  roarer ;  and  he 
wore  the  tube  eighteen  years  and  a  half,  doing  fast  work  all  the 
time.  The  animal  was  destroyed  at  twenty-three  years  of  age 
<he  owner  not  desiring  to  make  further  use  of  him  nor  tc  fieb 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY"  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.         101 

him.  Since  the  operation.  Leblanc  hud  not  observed  any 
change  in  the  horse,  except  a  depression  of  the  bones  of  the  face. 
After  death,  the  larynx  was  found  very  narrow,  the  mucous  mem- 
brane and  submucous  cellular  tissues  were  thickened,  the  epiglot- 
tis deformed,  very  obtuse,  and  everted  at  its  free  margin.  The 
changes  in  the  larynx  were  the  original  cause  of  roaring.  The 
depression  of  the  bones  of  the  face  was  connected  with  constric- 
tion of  the  nasal  chambers,  and  was  evidently  secondary  to  the 
change  in  the  course  of  the  air  in  the  process  of  respiration.  The 
parts  of  the  trachea  in  contact  with  the  tube  had  undergone  a 
transformation  into  very  hard  tissue.  It  filled  the  trachea  above 
the  point  where  the  tube  had  been  introduced,  and  intermixed 
witl  this  firm  fibrous  deposit  was  a  cartilaginous  and  osseous  tissue, 
which  offered  great  resistance  to  the  scalpel.  Roaring,  thick  wind, 
w  bistling,  etc.,  are  often  the  sequel  of  strangles,  influenza,  laryn- 
gitis,  and  other  affections  of  the  respiratory  passages,  and  hence 
hi  ive  an  accidental  origin.  In  such  cases,  we  may  entertain  a  hope 
ol  doing  some  good  by  means  of  medicinal  agents  and  counter- 
irritation. 

Treatment. — The  medicines  which  have  proved  most  successful 
in  my  practice  are  as  follows: 

No.  14.  Iodide  of  potass 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  stillingia 12  oz. 

Water 4  oz. 

Mix. 

Give  the  patient  two  ounces  daily,  by  means  of  a  small  vial; 
and  rub  the  region  of  the  throat  every  night  with  a  portion  of 
the  following : 

No.  15.  Cod-liver  oil )  , 

Spirits  of  camphor j  e(*ual  Parts' 


Polypus  within  the  Nostrils. 

Polypus  is  the  name  given  to  an  excrescence,  or  tumor,  which 
has  its  origin  from  the  surface  of  the  membrane  lining  the  nasal 
cavities.  It  is  designated  as  growing  from  a  mucous  membrane, 
having  a  narrow  neck  and  body,  resembling,  in  shape,  a  pear. 
The  usual  symptoms  attending  the  presence  of  polypus  in  the  nasal 
cavities  are  as  follows :  Difficulty  of  breathing,  evidently  occasioned 
by  abstraction  in  the  air-passages. 


502  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Percivall  informs  us  that  the  true  polypus  is  at- 
tached  to  mucous  membranes,  and  is  usually  found  in 
the  nasal  cavities.  He  tells  us  that  attending  the  diffi- 
culty of  breathing  is  a  mucous  discharge  from  one  or 
both  nostrils,  sometimes  attended  by  a  discharge  of 
blood.  Occasionally,  however,  pure  blood  runs  con- 
tinuously from  the  nose.  Inspection  in  a  full  light  dis- 
wiTm/THE    closes,  higher  or  lower  in  the  nostril,  the  rounded  base 

NOSTRIL.  '  ° 

of  a  polypus. 

Treatment. — The  services  of  a  veterinary  surgeon  are,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  here  needed.  The  patient  must  be  cast  and  the 
head  fixed  in  a  position  so  as  to  take  advantage  of  the  light.  The 
operator  then  passes  into  the  nostril  and  around  the  tumor  an  in- 
strument called  an  ecraiseur,  which  will  remove  the  tumor  without 
loss  of  blood.  If  the  instrument  is  not  at  hand,  the  surgeon  will 
pass  a  ligature  around  the  base  of  the  tumor,  and  in  the  course  of 
a  couple  of  days  it  will  be  detached.  Peecivall  recommends 
-.hat,  in  bringing  down  the  tumor  for  operation,  we  must  not  use 
any  great  force.  The  pedicle  being  but  a  duplicature  of  the  skin,, 
and  Dot  a  portion  of  the  polypus  itself,  may  be  divided  anywhere. 
In  some  cases,  the  polypus  is  so  high  up  within  the  nostril  that, 
'n  order  to  get  at  its  base,  it  becomes  necessary  to  make  an  incis- 
ion through  the  wall  of  the  nostril. 

Chabert,  in  his  "  Veterinary  Instructions,"  relates  the  follow- 
ing :  "  A  horse  in  a  cavalry  regiment  had  been  gradually  losing 
flesh,  and  was  quickly  and  painfully  blown  at  every  little  exer- 
tion. Fetid  matter  began  to  run  from  his  off  nostril,  and  the 
gland  correspondent  enlarged.  The  horse  was  supposed  by  the 
sergeant-farrier  to  be  glandered,  (there  being  no  veterinary  sur- 
geons then  in  the  French  service,)  and  was  treated  accordingly. 
After  a  time,  to  the  confusion  and  astonishment  of  the  man,  a 
fleshy  substance  began  to  appear  in  the  nostril,  and  which  rapidly 
increased  in  size.  At  length  a  great  mass  protruded,  and  the  far- 
1  ior  cut  it  off.  No  benefit  followed ;  the  nostril  was  still  stopped* 
the  breathing  laborious,  and  the  horse  daily  became  thinner  and 
weaker.  After  the  lapse  of  a  twelvemonth,  the  case  attracted 
the  attention  of  M.  Tears,  the  surgeon  of  the  regiment.  He  cast 
the  horse  and  slit  up  the  nostril,  when  he  not  only  found  it  com- 
pletely filled  with  polypus,  and  the  septum  narium  bulging  into; 
the  other  division  of  the  cavity,  but,  from  long-continupd  inflam- 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY   PASSAGES  ANu  ORGANS.        10'6 

mation  and  pressure,  it  adhered  to  the  membrane  of  the  nose  in  sc 
many  points,,  and  so  extensively,  that  it  was  impossible  to  get 
round  it  or  move  it.  He  contrived,  at  length,  to  pass  a  crucial 
bandage  around  it,  and  it  was  torn  out  by  main  force.  Four  con- 
siderable portions  of  the  turbinated  bones  were  brought  away  with 
it.  The  hemorrhage  was  excessive.  He  however  filled  the  nos- 
tril completely  with  tow,  and  brought  the  divided  edges  of  the 
false  nostril  together  by  sutures.  In  three  days  they  were  all 
torn  out  by  the  incessant  attempts  of  the  animal  to  get  rid  of  the 
obstruction;  but  the  horse  eventually  did  well.  The  polypus 
weighed  two  pounds  seven  ounces." 

Gohier  relates  a  case  of  a  horse  who  had  in  his  left  nostril  a 
polypus  as  large  as  a  turkey's  egg,  of  a  grayish  color  and  glossy 
surface,  too  high  up  to  be  reached  with  the  finger,  which  prevented 
his  breathing  on  that  side,  and  gave  rise  to  offensive  effluvium,  to 
enlargement  of  the  lymphatic  glands,  but  not  to  roaring.  Go- 
h  ier  slit  up  the  nostril,  and,  with  an  iro\i  rod  with  a  notch  upon 
its  end,  contrived  to  inclose  its  neck  in  the  slip-knot  of  a  liga- 
ture. In  drawing  this  tight,  however — which  was,  of  necessity, 
done  in  an  oblique  direction — the  pedicle  was  cut  through.  Little 
hemorrhage  succeeded,  although  the  tumor  weighed  twenty-four 
ounces.  The  slit  nostril  was  sewn  up,  and  cold  water  injected  into 
its  cavity.  A  copious  discharge  from  both  nostrils  followed,  with 
swelling  of  the  lymphatic  glands.  This  was  met  by  proper  treat- 
ment, and  in  fifteen  days  the  patient  was  sent  out  of  the  hospital. 


Bronchocele  (Goitre,  or  Big  Neck). 

Bronchocele,  or  enlargement  of  the  thyroid  glands,  is  a  disease 
which  very  frequently  makes  its  appearance  among  certain  breeds 
of  horses  and  sheep,  and  is  supposed  to  owe  its  origin  to  heredi- 
tary predispositions  and  influences.  It  is  also  very  prevalent 
among  members  of  the  human  family.  It  seems  to  acquire  a 
home  in  certain  localities  in  Derbyshire,  England,  where  it  is 
said  to  be  a  very  common  disorder;  but  its  occurrence  in  other 
parts  of  that  country  is  by  no  means  frequent.  Among  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Alps,  and  other  mountaincus  countries  bordering 
thereon,  it  is  a  disease  very  often  met  with. 

The  unoastxated  animals  seem  to  suffer  most.     After  they  get 


104 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGER7. 


to  be  about  eight  years  of  age,  the  tumors  acquire  such  magni- 
tude that  the}-  press  on  the  vocal  organs,  so  as  to  decrease  the 
caliber  of  the  larynx,  and  thus  the  animal  becomes  a  "roarer." 
Judging  from  what  we  know  of  the  disease  in  the  human  subject, 
the  glands,  while  undergoing  enlargement,  do  not  occasion  much 
pain.  The  danger  arises  from  mechanical  causes,  and  the  death 
of  the  subject,  if  it  occur,  is  due  to  asphyxia,  or  suffocation. 
Among  horses  there  arc  very  few  fatal  cases  on  record.  The 
reverse  is  the  case  as  regards  sheep.  When  these  glands  are 
much  enlarged,  and  the  animal  is  near  or  past  the  adult  age,  it 
is  very  unsafe  to  attempt  their  removal  by  means  of  the  knife; 
for  at  this  stage  they  are  highly  vascular,  and  the  arteries  which 
run  into  them  are  much  enlarged.     The  operation  has  been  suo- 


frKOWING  THK  TTTMOB  OF  BBOHCHOCELE  IN  THE  BEQ10H  OF  THB  THIOi*. 

usssfully  performed  on  lambs,  but  it  must  be  done  when  they  ai« 
quite  young,  and  the  artery  must  be  secured  before  the  gland  is 
extirpated,  or  the  animal  will  bleed  to  death  in  a  few  seconds.  It 
is  well  known  among  the  members  of  the  profession  that  the  dis- 
ease is  incurable;  and  the  same  remarks  apply  to  all  hereditary 
diseases,  yet  the  growth  of  the  glands  may  be  retarded  by  means 
of  local  and  constitutional  treatment. 

The  thyroid  glands  are  two  ovoid  bodies,  varying  in  size  from 
a  filbert  to  an  egg,  located  in  the  region  of  the  thyroid  cartilage 
(throat),  one  on  each  side  of  the  trachea  (windpipe).  Their  at- 
tachments are  cellular.  When  cut  into,  they  exhibit  a  porus  tex- 
ture, highly  vascular,  well  supplied  with  blood-vessels.  Very 
little  is  known  of  their  physiology.     They  are  called  vascular 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.         10A 

glands  without  ducts  or  outlets,  and  thus  they  correspond  with 
the  spleen,  thymus  gland,  and  supra-renal  capsules,  all  of  -which, 
when  in  active  operation,  are  largely  supplied  with  Wood.  As 
regards  the  function  of  each,  they  may  be  supposed  to  M.j.arate 
certain  materials  from  the  blood,  and  only  differ  from  ordinary 
glands  in  not  having  a  direct  outlet.  Consequently,  not  knowing 
the  precise  part  which  the  thyroid  glands  play  in  the  animal 
economy,  it  would  be  very  unwise  to  remove  them,  when  their 
enlargement,  in  some  cases,  amounts  to  little  else  than  an  "eye- 
sore." Their  enlargement  is  generally  the  consequence,  and  not 
the  cause,  of  disease.  Men,  horses,  dogs,  and  cattle  of  the  scrof- 
ulous diathesis,  are  known  to  have  what  may  be  termed  chronic 
enlargement  of  these  glands,  and  this  peculiarity  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  the  thyroid  glands  are  somewhat  associated  with  the 
lymphatic  system.  Then,  again,  we  find  these  glands  enlarged 
in  cases  of  throat  and  lung  difficulties — in  catarrh,  influenza,  dis- 
temper, etc. — so  that  their  extirpation  would  not  remove  the 
original  difficulty.  In  such  cases  they  decrease  in  size  as  soon 
a>  the  original  malady  ceases.  The  enlargement  is  not  then  of 
a  permanent  character. 

Treatment. — Should  the  enlargement  appear  to  exist  independ- 
ent of  febrile  symptoms,  twenty-five  grains  of  the  iodide  of 
potassium  may  be  given  daily,  in  water  (which  the  patient  will 
not  refuse  to  drink),  and  a  small  portion  of  the  ointment  of 
iodide  of  potassium  may  be  rubbed  on  the  enlargement,  with 
decided  advantage: 

No.  16.  Iodide  of  potassium 1  part. 

Lard .  , 8  parts. 

Mix. 

On  the  Action  of  Iodine. — Iodine  and  its  compounds  are  the 
principal  agents  used  by  veterinary  surgeons  for  the  treatment  of 
glandular  affections,  and  they  supersede,  to  a  certain  extent,  the 
preparations  of  quicksilver,  in  the  form  of  mercury,  which  are 
apt  to  be  absorbed  into  the  system,  and  thus  produce  mischief. 

Morton,  in  his  "  Manual  of  Pharmacy,"  thus  alludes  to  iodine : 
•'The  action  of  iodine  and  its  compounds  is  markedly  seen  on 
glandular  structure,  and  newly-formed  and  abnormal  growths. 
For  the  latter  they  seem  to  manifest  a  decided  preference,  which 
renders  them  so  valuable  as  therapeutic  agents.  Their  influence 
is  that  of  a  stimulant  to  the  absorbents;  and  by  means  of  these 


10G  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

vessels,  when  those  agents  have  been  long  and  injudiciously  given, 
it  is  recorded  that  the  marninae  of  women  and  the  testes  of  men 
have  almost  disappeared.  A  case  illustrative  of  the  effects  of 
iodine  on  the  glandular  system  was  related  by  Mr.  Wardle,  who 
employs  this  agent  largely,  and  with  considerable  success.  He 
had  been  for  some  weeks  exhibiting  the  iodide  of  potassium,  and 
also  applying  it  externally  to  a  bull  for  an  enlarged  parotid  gland. 
The  reduction  of  the  swelling  having  been  accomplished,  his  at- 
tention was  directed  to  the  testicles  of  his  patient,  which  had  be- 
come so  much  diminished  in  size;  and  it  was  also  found  that  the 
animal  had  no  desire  to  copulate.  Four  months  generous  feed, 
however,  effectually  restored  the  parts  to  their  pristine  state. 

In  chronic  enlargements  of  the  submaxillary,  parotid,  mam- 
mary, and  other  glands;  in  tumors  of  long  standing;  for  thick- 
ening of  the  integuments,  and  indurated  swellings  about  the  joints, 
in  all  our  domestic  animals,  and  for  unhealthy  ulcerated  surfaces, 
the  use  of  iodine  and  its  compounds  is  indicated,  combining  both 
their  internal  and  external  employment.  The  latter  should  be 
accompanied  with  friction;  and  so  soon  as  soreness  is  induced,  the 
application  of  the  compound  must  be  suspended.  A  desquama- 
tion, or  scaling  off  of  the  cuticle,  or  skin,  usually  follows  this,  and 
a  reduction  of  the  swelling  will  soon  after  be  perceptible.  Unfor- 
tunately, it  is  too  often  the  case  that,  if  the  expectations  of  the 
practitioner  are  not  at  once  realized,  the  agf  nt  is  discarded  as  use- 
less. Now,  the  compounds  of  iodine  rank  a  nong  those  substance 
whose  operation  is  slow,  but  which,  at  the  same  time,  constitute 
in  important  class,  as  their  effects  are  permanent." 

Influenza,  or  Epizootic  Catarrh. 

Influenza  is  a  disease  of  a  catarrhal  character,  always  accompa- 
nied by  great  weakness  or  debility.  It  is  apt  tc  migrate  from  one 
tissue  to  another,  and  thus  produce  various  complications.  In  sta- 
bles that  are  badly  ventilated,  or  over-crowded  with  horses,  the 
malady  is  apt  to  make  sad  havoc,  and  assume  a  malignancy  ending 
in  typhoid  or  typhus  fever. 

In  some  cases  the  heart  or  lungs  become  congested,  and  thua 
their  function  is  embarrassed.  The  blood  accumulates  carbon,  the 
heart  fails  to  propel,  and  the  lungs  to  vitalize  the  blood.  This 
state  demands  stim  ilants  of  a  character  that  shall  excite  v'tal  action. 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.         107 

and  tend  to  effect  chemical  changes  in  the  blood.  The  most  valu- 
able agent,  in  this  view,  is  carbonate  of  ammonia.  In  veterinary 
practice  this  agent  is  considered  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  diffu- 
sible stimulants.  It  acts  first  on  the  nerves  of  the  stomach,  and 
through  them  excites  the  whole  nervous  system.  It  may  be  given 
in  doses  from  one  to  three  drachms,  either  in  the  form  of  bolus  or 
drench.  Its  stimulating  influence  over  the  heart  and  nervous  sys- 
tem may  be  increased  by  the  addition  of  one  or  more  drachms  of 
good  Jamaica  ginger.  This  treatment  may  be  continued  until 
congestion  subsides,  which  may  be  known  by  the  fullness  of  pulse 
and  heat  of  the  external  surface  of  the  body,  and  by  other  symp- 
toms which  usually  attend  fever  in  its  inflammatory  stage. 

The  exciting  or  stimulating  plan  of  treatment  must  never  be 
entirely  abandoned.     To  husband  the  powers  of  the  system,  and 
thus  guard  against  subsequent  prostration,  must  be  our  chief  object 
Although  the  case  may  require  a  sedative  to-day,  in  the  form  of 
two  or  three  drachms  of  fluid  extract  of  gelseminum,  yet,  in  the 
course  of  a  very  few  hours,  the  prostration  becomes  so  apparent  that 
we  are  again  compelled  to  exhibit  life-sustaining  agents.     Excit- 
ants, or  counter-excitants,  are  also,  at  times,  needed  externally. 
If  the  patient  has  a  deep-seated  cough,  strong  liniment,  composed 
of  oil  of  hartshorn  (and  sometimes  oil  of  camphor),  must  be  applied. 
Often  I  anoint  the  parts  with  a  thick  paste,  composed  of  mustard 
and  vinegar.     The  membranes  of  the  fauces  (throat)  are  exces- 
sively sore ;  then  the  same  course  has  to  be  pursued.     At  the  same 
time,  a  mucilaginous  drink,  composed  of  flaxseed  sweetened  with 
honey,  must  be  allowed.     The  nervous  system  must  also  be  aroused 
by  the  application  of  the  above  liniment  to  the  spinal  column. 
At  another  stage  of  the  malady,  diaphoresis  (increased  perspiration) 
must  be  excited  by  clothing  the  body  with  flannel,  and  drenching 
with  a  preparation  known  as  solution  of  acetate  of  ammonia,  to 
the  amount  of  six  or  eight  ounces  per  day,  until  the  skin  feels  soft 
and  warm.     In  case  sederna  (local  dropsy)  of  the  body  or  extremi 
ties  sets  in,  the  patient  then  requires  diuretics.     One  or  two  ounces 
of  sweet  spirits  of  niter,  or  two  ounces  fluid  extract  of  buchu,  may 
be  given  in  linseed  tea,  until  the  kidneys  respond,  and  the  secretion 
of  urine  becomes  augmented.     The  bowels  are  sometimes  inactive, 
but  that  inactivity  may  be  corrected  by  adding  to  a  bran-masb 
from  fcnr  to  six  drachms  of  fluid  extract  of  mandrake.     Occa- 
sion/'      le  patient  becomes  uneasy,  paws  with  his  fore-feet,  and 


LUfe  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGEiSi. 

evinces  signs  of  abdominal  pain.  In  that  event,  he  should  have 
two  or  three  drachms  of  fluid  extract  of  Indian  hemp.  These 
latter  symptoms  indicate  danger,  showing  that  the  bowels  are 
congested,  and  the  result  may  be  mortification  of  the  -ame. 

The  following  case,  occurring  in  the  author's  practice,  goes  to 
show  that  influenza  may  sometimes  be  followed  by  an  acute  disease 
of  the  brain,  pleurisy,  etc. :  The  patient  was  a  bay  gelding,  aged 
about  eight  years.  The  groom  informed  me  that  the  disease  was 
ushered  in  by  a  shivering  fit.  Soon  a  discharge  from  both  nos- 
trils ensued.  The  throat  became  sore;  cough  and  laborious 
respiration  followed,  and  the  animal  became  so  weak  that  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  back  him  out  of  the  stall.  He  ate  but  little, 
and  in  the  act  of  drinking,  the  water  returned  through  his  nos- 
trils. The  treatment  was  commenced  in  the  usual  manner,  by 
administering  tonics  and  stimulants,  which  seemed  to  have  a  good 
effect  on  him.  He  also  received  enemas  of  soap-suds ,  yet,  not- 
withstanding, symptoms  of  pleurisy  supervened.  He  appeared  to 
suffer  much  pain,  and  was  very  unwilling  to  have  the  region  of 
the  chest  explored.  The  least  pressure  on  the  region  of  the  inter- 
costal spaces  would  cause  him  to  grunt  or  groan  with  pain.  The 
pulse  was  active  and  wiry,  and  the  visible  surfaces  were  much 
reddened.  I  administered  a  full  dose  of  powdered  niter,  and 
twenty  drops  of  aconite ;  and  fearing  effusion  into  the  chest,  I 
plastered  the  walls  of  the  same  with  hot  vinegar  and  mustard. 
The  latter  made  the  patient  very  uneasy,  and  he  cut  up  all  kinds 
of  capers.  In  the  course  of  a  few  hours  I  repeated  the  dose,  and 
left  the  patient  for  the  night.  Next  morning  I  again  visited  him, 
and  was  informed  that  he  had  made  several  attempts  to  get  up  in 
the  manger.  I  noticed  that  his  head  was  elevated,  and  the  eyes 
fiery  red.  He  acted  wildly  and  showed  decided  symptoms  of 
phrenzy.  On  attempting  to  administer  a  sedative,  the  animal 
went  into  convulsions,  and  I  was  compelled  to  make  my  escape 
from  the  stall  as  quick  as  possible.  He  soon  got  his  fore-feet  ovei 
the  tops  of  an  adjoining  stall,  five  feet  in  height,  remained  there 
for  a  short  time,  when  he  scrambled  over  and  fell  like  a  log  right 
into  the  next  stall.  I  never  expected  to  see  him  rise  again ;  but 
after  a  few  minutes,  with  some  assistance,  he  got  up.  I  gave  him 
twenty  drops  of  aconite.  During  this  day  the  frantic  animal 
went  over  a  stall  twice  in  succession,  and  fell  very  heavily  each 
time  on  his  back,  yet  did  not  appear  to  have  suffered  any  injury 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.         109 

Mosi  of  the  time  he  appeared  frantic,  yet  unconscious ;  and  just 
before  going  into  a  convulsive  fit,  he  would  stamp  with  his  fore- 
feet, continuously  toss  up  his  head,  his  neck  being  the  seat  of 
spasmodic  twistings.  Next  daj  the  symptoms  had  not  altered 
much,  and,  during  my  examination,  he  pulled  back,  broke  a  por- 
tion of  his  manger  to  which  he  was  tied,  and  fell  head  over  heels 
on  the  floor.  During  the  forenoon  he  became  more  calm,  and  la^ 
>ii  the  floor,  yet  would  occasionally  jerk  his  head  backward,  and 
have  slight  convulsions.  I  continued  the  prostrating  plan  of 
treatment,  only  exhibiting  smaller  doses,  and  soon  the  patient  began 
to  improve.  The  membranes  of  the  eyes,  mouth,  and  nostrils  as- 
sumed a  more  natural  appearance;  then  the  plan  of  treatment  was 
altered,  and  the  patient  received  tonics  and  stimulants,  which  soon 
resulted  in  convalescence. 

Among  all  the  cases  that  have  come  under  my  care  and  observa- 
tion, I  have  neither  found  it  advisable  nor  necessary  to  practice 
the  antiphlogistic  treatment,  in  so  far  as  it  relates  to  bleeding  and 
purging ;  and  I  can  not  conceive  a  case,  so  depressing  as  influenza 
is  known  to  be,  thai  would  require  any  such  heroic  treatment. 
The  safety  of  our  patient  depends  on  the  judicious  application  of 
remedies  such  as  are  here  named,  and,  therefore,  I  would  warn  the 
farmer  against  the  use  of  fleam  and  cathartic  in  the  treatment  of 
influenza.  Yet,  after  all,  the  best  treatment  may  fail  in  restoring 
3  patient.  "We  require  aid  in  the  form  of  pure  air,  suitable  diet, 
?nd  good  nursing.  Failing  in  the  latter  important  adjuncts,  our 
treatment  avails  but  little. 

Influenza  is  a  disease  accompanied  by  a  discharge  from  the  res- 
piratory, conjunctival,  and  schneiderian  membranes;  and  the 
organs  of  respiration  themselves  are  more  or  less  involved,  as 
shown  by  cough  and  soreness  of  the  throat,  lassitude,  fever,  thirst, 
and  loss  of  appetite.  Now,  if  the  term  influenza  means  any  thing, 
it  signifies  epidemic  catarrh,  and  the  cases  alluded  to  w«re  not  c/ 
.his  character,  but  quite  diverse,  indicating  a  low  congestive  state, 
Still,  the  majority  of  cases  that  we  have  seen  do  appear  to  be  noth- 
ing more  nor  less  than  influenza;  but  if  the  above  diseases  appear 
oimultaneous  with  the  latter,  there  is  danger  of  persons  making 
great  mistakes  in  the  treatment,  for  it  is  very  apt  to  run  into 
typhoid  fever. 


1 
110  dadd's  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

Typhus  or  Typhoid  Affections. 

The  veterinary  surgeons  of  England  Lave  hithe/  •  maintain  A 
a  remarkable  silence  on  the  subject  of  typhoid  affect:ons  occurring 
among  horses;  and  so  late  as  the  year  1850,  Mr.  Percivall  in- 
forms the  world,  through  the  pages  of  the  '  Veterinarian,"  that  in 
London  very  little  is  known  about  such  disease.  In  view,  there- 
fore, of  lighting  up  the  dark  spots  that  exist  in  our  department  on 
this  side  of  the  water,  we  furnish  a  translation  from  the  French,  by 
Mr.  Percivall.  The  article  is  a  selection  from  a  prize  memoir 
written  by  a  distinguished  surgeon.  It  is  preceded,  as  the  reader 
will  perceive,  by  a  review  from  the  pen  of  the  translator,  who 
says : 

"  In  the  '  Collection  of  Memoirs  and  Observations  on  (French) 
Military  Veterinarian  Hygiene  and  Medicine/  which  we  have  so 
lately  been  engaged  in  examining,  are  contained  two  prh;e 
memoirs — one  on  Farcy,  the  other  on  Typhoid  Affections 
in  hcrses.*  On  the  latter  of  these  we  would  make  a  few  remarks, 
if  it  were  only  for  the  reason  of  showing  what  is  meant  to  be  un- 
derstood by  such  imposing  titles.  Typhus  and  typhoid  are  word** 
but  rarely  heard  in  our  own  country  in  connection  with  veterinary, 
or  at  least  with  hippiatric,  medicine.  Our  old  writers  on  farriery 
described  fevers  in  horses  as  very  destructive  in  their  character 
requiring  antiphlogistic  treatment : 

"'Typhus  Fever. — A  disease  touching  which  we  (the  author)  are 
in  possession  of  but  few  observations,  and  one  that  has  been,  and 
still  is,  in  our  opinion,  mistaken  for  and  confounded  with  either 
enteritis  or  gastro-enteritis — in  cases,  for  example,  in  which  its 
consequences  are  of  little  importance — though,  perhaps,  with  pu- 
trid fever,  when,  on  the  other  hand,  malignant  and  exhibiting 
extraordinary  violence,  its  progress  is  rapid  and  its  termination 
fatal.  In  its  most  benignant  form,  typhus  fever,  indeed,  bears  so 
great  a  resemblance  to  pure  inflammation  of  the  primary  intestinal 
passages,  that  it  is  often  difficult,  very  difficult,  even  to  distinguish 
them.  As  for  the  cause  which  occasions  it  to  be  confounded  with 
putrid  fever,  it  is  no  matter  of  astonishment  to  us,  since,  in  our 
opinion,  one  fever  possesses,  in  many  respects,  so  great  an  analogy 


•The  reader  will  find  an  article  on  Typhus  Fever,  but  in  an  enzootic  form,  iu 
uThe  Veterinarian,"  vol.  xxii,  p.  462. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.    Ill 

with  the  other;  while  typhus  itself,  through  causes  which  remain 
latent  up  to  the  present  hour,  is,  like  the  gastro-enteritis  of  1825, 
dangerous,  fatal,  and  epizootic.  In  general,  typhus  fever  begins 
without  any  warning,  though  there  are  times  in  which  its  ap- 
proach is  marked  by  dullness  and  weakness,  and  a  manifestation 
of  being  easily  fatigued,  sweating  through  little  exertion,  etc., 
with  loss  of  appetite. 

Of  the  first  stage,  the  most  remarkable  symptoms  are  either  a 
yellow  redness  of  the  pituitary  membrane,  or  a  dryness  or  a  dis- 
charge of  viscous  matter,  which  adheres  in  thick  incrustations 
around  the  alse  of  the  nostrils,  with,  occasionally,  an  appearance 
of  drops  of  blood.  The  nostrils  are  more  or  less  dilated,  the  res- 
piration more  or  less  frequent,  according  to  the  sharpness  of  the 
abdominal  pains,  or  the  existence  of  a  lamentable  complication  of 
thoracic  with  abdominal  disease.  The  ear  applied  to  the  wind- 
pipe or  to  the  walls  of  the  thorax,  almost  always  detects  a  well- 
marked  mucous  rale;  also  there  is  cough,  with  full,  strong,  and 
frequent  pulse. 

In  the  second  stage,  the  mouth  becomes  dry,  and  sometimes  dis- 
plays aphthae  or  cracks  of  some  depth.  The  tongue  is  red  about 
its  point  and  along  its  sides,  but  its  middle  and  base  are  of  a  deep 
yellow  tint.  The  breath  is  tainted.  When  abdominal  symptoms 
are  present,  which  is  not  always  the  case,  they  are  sufficiently 
well  marked.  The  dung  is  either  very  hard,  or  it  is,  more  com- 
monly, liquid ;  sometimes  it  is  bloody,  and  issues  a  fetid  odor,  the 
debility  frequently  being  such  at  this  period  as  to  cause  constant 
opening  of  the  anus.  The  pituitary  membrane  is  dry,  and  covered 
with  bloody  points.  The  conjunctival  membrane  is  reddened  and 
infiltrated,  and,  like  the  pituitary,  presents  petechial  patches. 
The  pulse  has  not  its  force  and  fullness,  etc.  Some  veterinarians 
have  remarked,  at  this  period,  upon  the  insides  of  the  thighs  those 
little  vesicles  to  which  the  name  of  sudamina  has  been  given. 
Urine  scanty,  possessing  a  remarkable  fetor,  and  voided  occasion- 
ally with  great  pain;  great  dejection,  and  occasional  stupor ;  and, 
ordinarily,  at  this  period  it  is  that  the  ataxic  or  adynamic  symp- 
toms set  in. 

In  the  third  stage,  the  parotids  tumefy  and  ulcerate.  Any  setons 
oi  rowels  that  may  have  been  introduced,  or  blisters,  become  so 
many  causes  of  mortification  of  the  parts  in  which  they  have  been 
applied.     And  now  the  mouth  becomes  quite  dried  up;  the  tongue 


112  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

acquires  a  horny  feel,  and  turns  brown;  the  gums  and  teeth  are 
covered  with  a  dingy  slime.  Bleeding  from  the  nose,  which  mostly 
appears  during  the  inflammatory  stage,  now  returns.  The  pulse 
becomes  irregular  and  more  feeble ;  oedema,  sometimes  consider- 
able, of  the  extremities ;  great  debility.  The  temperature  of  the 
body  sinks.  The  neck,  belly,  flanks,  axilla,  and  groins  become 
covered  with  cold  and  clammy  sweats;  the  tympanitis  increases, 
the  evacuations  being  bloody  and  fetid  to  a  remarkable  degree. 
The  animal,  continually  in  pain,  exhibits  symptoms  of  colic,  often 
seeking  to  lie  down ;  but  if  he  does,  he  soon  rises  again.  Respi- 
ration greatly  accelerated ;  nostrils  widely  dilated ;  pulsations  of 
the  heart  tumultuous.  At  length,  beginning  to  stagger,  he  falls, 
either  to  die  an  easy  death  or  to  expire  amid  agonizing  convulsions. 
When,  however,  recovery  in  place  of  death  follows,  such  symp- 
toms as  we  have  last  detailed  do  not  occur,  or  with  only  modified 
force  and  character.  When  blood  has  been  drawn  for  experiment, 
under  such  circumstances,  at  a  time  when  adynamic  and  biliary 
symptoms  prevailed,  it  has  been  found  to*  contain  but  little  hema- 
tosine,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a  large  proportion  of  serum,  of  a  light 
greenish  hue.  The  disease  may  last  from  four,  seven,  or  eight  t<i 
thirty  days.  Relapse  is  extremely  likely,  even  under  every  pros- 
pect of  convalescence,  unless  great  care  be  taken.  The  diagnosis 
at  the  commencement  is  difficult,  even  impossible,  when  the  char- 
acteristic symptoms  are  but  scantily  and  imperfectly  developed. 

The  affections  whose  symptoms  most  resemble  those  of  the  dis- 
ease before  us  are  plegmasia  of  the  intestinal  tube,  and  particular 
of  the  brain.  Should  sudamina  be  detected,  they  are,  as  in  human 
medicine,  to  be  regarded  as  definitely  characteristic  of  typhoid 
fevei.  Prognosis,  for  the  most  part,  unfavorable;  and  the  more 
so  according  as  the  nervous  accompaniments  are  more  numerous, 
more  violent,  and  more  early  in  showing  themselves;  the  stupor 
great,  the  strength  failing  more,  the  pulse  faltering,  the  diarrhea 
greater,  more  bloody,  fetid,  etc. 

Our  etioloe-v  is  all  at  fault.  In  truth,  we  know  not  the  deter- 
mining  cause  of  typhus.  The  post-mortem  states  are  by  no  means 
agreed  upon  by  those  who  have  reported  them.  Most  agree  that- 
the  digestive  canal  exhibits  the  most  constant  and  marked  symp- 
toms of  disorder.  The  mouth  presents  marks  of  inflammation, 
and,  on  occasions,  aphtha  or  ulcerations,  though  commonly  too  su- 
perficial to  destroy  the  living  membrane.     The  pharynx  sometimes 


DISEASES  Ot   THE  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS     113 

the  same  as  the  mouth;  at  others,  nothing.  The  stomach  is  fre- 
quently the  seat  of  inflammation  of  a  marked  character.  The 
intestines  also  reddened,  to  more  or  less  extent.  The  cavity  of 
the  peritoneum,  containing  a  citron-colored  fluid,  reddened,  per- 
haps, the  omentum  being  at  times  almost  entirely  destroyed.  A 
liquid  matter — a  sort  of  bloody  corruption  of  more  or  less  consist- 
ence— is  often  found  within  the  cavities  of  the  small  guts ;  and  in 
those  of  the  large,  the  caecum  and  colon  in  particular,  are  some- 
time^ to  be  remarked  red  and  black  spots,  or  ecchymoses,  buds  of 
smaller  or  larger  size  {glandes  de  Bruner)  indistinctly  planted  over 
the  mucous  surface. 

Malignant  or  Putrid  Typhus — {Typhus  Charbonneaux.) — These 
malignant  and  putrid  affections,  either  constitutional,  or,  in  some 
instances,  but  local  in  their  origin,  ever  of  a  highly  acute  nature 
and  of  unequaled  rapidity  of  progress,  since  not  unfrequently  they 
cause  death  in  a  few  hours,  are  of  more  consequence  for  us  to  be- 
come acquainted  with,  as  they  are  not  only  susceptible  of  being- 
communicated  from  one  animal  to  another,  but  even  from  animal 
to  man,  in  whom,  losing  none  of  their  malignity,  they  are  likewise 
most  commonly  mortal.  Frequently  sporadic,  sometimes  epizootic, 
but  most  commonly  enzootic,  these  diseases  at  times  assume  so  re- 
doubtable a  form  that  nothing  can  arrest  their  progress.  Invading 
farms  or  other  extensive  localities,  they  produce  therein  terrific 
ravages;  for,  being  susceptible  under  various  forms,  almost  equally 
fatal  one  with  another,  of  prostrating  a  vast  number  of  animals  of 
the  same  or  different  species,  these  affections  determine,  under  vary- 
ing circumstances,  losses  which,  on  occasions,  desolate  and  com- 
pletely ruin  the  country  where  they  have  broken  out. 

Such  are  the  two  especial  forms  of  typhus  fever  which  have 
been  observed  among  horse-kind — one  of  which  would  seem  to 
occur  at  times  in  practice  without  being  sufficiently  heeded  or  re- 
cognized by  veterinary  surgeons  in  this  country,  while  the  other 
may  be  said  to  comprehend  those  malignant  epidemics  by  which 
our  cattle,  if  not  our  horses,  have,  of  late  years,  been  too  fearfully 
visited.' " 

In  the  treatment  of  typhoid  affections,  we  endeavor  to  give  tone 
to  the  system  by  furnishing  nutritious  diet,  tonic,  and  stimulating 
medicines.  Ginger  and  golden  seal,  with  a  small  portion  of  hy- 
posulphite of  soda,  are  the  best  remedies. 

3 


114 


DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERT. 


PLAN  OF  A  VAPOR  BATS  USED  IN  THE  TREATMENT  OF  LUNO  AFFECTIONS. 

Explanation.— a,  represents  a  boiler  originally  erected  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the  infirmary 
with  hot  water;  c,  is  the  main  pipe  issuing  from  the  top  of  the  boiler  receiving  the  steam,  and 
conducting  it,  when  not  required  for  other  purposes,  into  either  a  flue  or  the  open  air  at  b;  c 
and  /  are  branch  pipes  from  the  main  one  (c),  /  being  that  which  conducts  the  steam  into  a 
worm  (h).  winding  through  a  condensing  trough  (g);  e,  the  branch  pipe  which  conducts  the 
steam  (prevented  by  stop-cock  from  going  in  the  other  direction'  into  the  bath,  the  place  of 
admission  (.nj  being  on  one  side,  close  to  the  floor  at  a  point  intermediate  between  the  horse's 
fore  and  hind  feet  while  standing  in  the  bath,  with  his  head  outside-  m  is  the  bath,  being  a 
horse-box,  such  as  is  used  for  embarking  horses  on  board  of  ship,  with  the  addition  of  a  Iinit'g 
of  flannel,  a  roofing  of  hoops  and  tilting,  and  curtains  over  the  doors,  front  and  back,  to  pre- 
vent the  escape  of  steam.  The  box,  being  placed  upon  wheels,  serves,  besides  being  used  as  a 
bath,  for  tho  transport  of  sick  or  lame  horses  ;  and.  having  doors  at  both  ends,  and  a  moveable 
platform  fcr  the  horse  to  walk  in  upon,  is,  in  general,  entered  without  any  great  deal  of  unwill- 
ingness. 


Pneumonia  (Inflammation  op  the  Lungs). 

InitaLjmation  of  the  lungs,  known  to  veterinarians  as  pneu- 
monia, is  not  apt  to  be  so  prevalent  among  horned  creatures  as 
amoug  horses,  except,  however  milch  cows,  when  they  are  located 
in  nlthy,  unventilated  milking  establishments.  In  such  places 
diseases  of  the  lungs  are  often  fearfully  prevalent,  raging  as  an 
epizootic,  as  it  did  a  few  years  ago  in  the  swill-milk  establish- 
ments of  New  York.  It  makes  sad  havoc  when  prevalent  among 
a  large  herd  that  may  be  confined  in  a  barn  or  stable  of  con- 
tracted proportions.  All  domestic  animals  require  plenty  of 
room,  as  well  as  light  and  pure  air;  for  it  is  now  pretty  ciearly 
demonstrated  that  the  pleuro-pneumonia,  which  appeared  in 
Massachusetts,  in  1860,  on  the  premises  of  Mr.  Chenery,  arose 
there  spontaneously.  His  barn,  or  rather  the  basement,  where 
the  cattle  lived,  was  a  room  fifty  feet  square  and  only  eight 
feet  in  height.     The  walls  on  the  north,  and  a  portion  of  the 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.         115 

east  and  west  sides,  were  composed  of  brick,  and  the  remainder 
of  boards,  with  joints  battened.  On  the  south,  east,  and  west 
skies  were  glass  windows ;  on  the  north  side  a  door  opened  into 
the  vegetable  cellar,  and  on  the  roof  there  was  a  sky-light.  A 
stairway  led  to  the  hay-loft  above,  another  to  the  manure  cellar 
below,  both  closed  by  doors.  The  manure  cellar  was  eight  feet 
deep,  and  extended  under  the  whole  room.  In  the  winter  and 
spring  of  1859  were  confined  forty  head  of  cattle,  arranged  on 
three  sides,  with  their  heads  toward  the  center ;  and  within  that 
center  was  another  square,  containing  animals,  so  arranged  that 
almost  all  were  brought  face  to  face.  The  manure  cellar,  about 
this  time,  contained  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  cords  of  manure, 
with  from  ten  to  twenty  hogs  in  it.  "  This,"  says  Mr.  Chenery, 
"  was  my  condition  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1860.  I  had 
buried  nearly  half  of  my  herd.  I  had  experimentally  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that,  in  order  to  keep  animals  alive  and 
in  health,  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  they  should  be  supplied 
Mith  pure  air  as  well  as  with  good  food  and  pure  water." 

So  far  as  the  direct  or  indirect  causes  of  pneumonia  are  con- 
cerned, we  may  safely  infer  that  crowding  and  a  bad  system  of 
ventilation  includes  them  all.  Yet,  among  horses,  this  disease 
often  originates  as  the  consequence  of  laborious  work  and  feats 
of  speed,  which  produces  rapid  and  sometimes  distressing  respira- 
tions; but  among  cattle,  whose  powers  of  speed  and  endurance 
are  not  often  put  to  the  test,  and  whose  natural  respirations  are 
slower,  we  infer  that  impure  air,  and  perhaps  exposure,  too,  are 
more  operative  than  action  or  ill-usage. 

The  stimulating  and  morbid  action  of  an  impure  atmosphere 
may  produce  a  disease  of  this  character  by  its  irritating  effects  on 
the  highly  vascular  membrane  which  lines  the  bronchi  and  air- 
cells.  But  then  we  all  know  that  impure  air  fails  to  decarbonize 
the  blood ;  hence  it  is  rendered  unfit  to  enter  the  system.  It  has 
been  noticed,  however,  by  the  drovers  of  the  East,  that  when  cat- 
tle have  been  driven  a  long  distance  without  food,  and  in  tem- 
pestuous weather,  they  are  apt  to  become  the  subjects  of  diseased 
lungs.  Fortunately  for  the  poor  brute,  pneumonia  is  not  so  pain- 
ful as  bronchitis,  pleurisy,  or  laryngitis ;  and  having  passed  through 
the  acute  stage,  which  is  usually  brief,  it  assumes  a  mild  or  sub- 
acute form,  and  ends  in  altered  structure  of  the  lungs,  known  as 
induration  (hardening)  or  hepatization  (liver-like),  or  it  may  end 


116  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

in  pleurisy,  and  ultimately  dropsy  of  the  chest.  I  should  judge 
that  cattle,  when  the  subjects  of  pneumonia,  suffer  less  tian  horses, 
from  the  fact  that  the  former  will  lie  down  during  the  progress  of 
the  disease,  and  the  horse  is  scarcely,  if  ever,  known  to  do  so  until 
shortly  before  he  dies.  In  the  horse,  this  malady  occasionally 
takes  a  metastatic  turn ;  that  is,  the  disease  is  translated  to  the  feet 
or  brain,  producing  an  affection  of  a  very  formidable  and  acute 
character.     Among  cattle,  however,  such  translation  is  very  rare. 

Forms  of  Pneumonia. — Pneumonia  is  divided  into  several  stages 
and  forms,  but  as  such  refer  more  to  its  degree  or  intensity,  I  shall 
only  inform  the  reader  that  pneumonia  may  exist  either  as  a  con- 
dition of  congestion  or  of  inflammation.  Congestion  signifies  a 
distended  or  plethoric  state  of  the  blood-vessels  of  the  substance 
of  the  lungs,  and  slow  motion  of  the  blood ;  and  it  sometim<<s 
sets  in  as  suddenly  as  that  form  which  is  termed  inflammatory ; 
among  cattle  the  former  form  is  more  prevalent.  In  the  conges- 
tive stage  the  symptoms  are  those  of  embarrassment — the  blocd 
courses  through  its  vessels  sluggishly,  and  there  is  not  that  activity 
of  the  heart  and  lungs  which  is  noticed  in  inflammatory  pneu- 
monia. 

Symptoms  of  Inflammation  of  the  Lungs. — There  are  many  symj^- 
toms  attending  lung  diseast  which  are  common  to  various  otht-r 
forms  or  affections.  These  must  be  inferred ;  for,  by  detailing 
them,  I  might  only  confound  the  non-medical  reader,  and  rendu 
the  diagnosis  difficult,  and,  perhaps,  impossible.  The  symptom*, 
in  the  early  stages,  are  such  as  are  usually  observed  at  the  com- 
mencement of  febrile  diseases,  viz. :  coldness  of  the  extremities, 
and  slight  shivering  fits;  loss  of  appetite;  labored  respiration: 
pulse  variable,  and  the  mouth  hot  and  clammy ;  the  animal  heaves 
at  the  flanks,  is  rather  unwilling  to  move,  and  the  fore-legs  are 
widely  separated,  while  the  head  is  held  in  a  drooping  position. 
As  the  disease  progresses,  these  symptoms  vary  more  or  less,  and 
the  appearance  of  the  membranes  of  the  mouth,  nose,  and  eyes 
may  vary  from  the  color  of  bright  scarlet  to  that  of  a  leaden  hue. 
In  congestive  pneumonia,  the  pulse  is  more  voluminous,  yet  less 
active,  than  in  health,  or  in  acute  disease.  A  cough,  slight  or 
active,  as  the  case  may  be,  is  usually  noticed ;  it  is  a  sort  of  deep- 
seated,  half-suppressed  one,  and  sometimes  it  is  the  first  symptom 
which  calls  the  owner's  attention  to  the  ailing  animal. 

Treatment. — It  is  important,  at  the  commencement  of  the  treat' 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.         117 

ment,  that  the  patient  shall  be  placed  in  a  comfortable  shed  or 
barn,  where  pure  air  abounds;  for,  under  such  circumstances, 
the  cooperation  of  Nature  in  the  cure  of  the  malady  is  secured. 
Should  the  disease  be  of  an  acute  character,  it  will  be  accom- 
panied by  quick  or  labored  respiration,  and  a  strong,  wiry  pulse. 
In  that  event,  I  should  give  two  drachms  of  the  tincture  of  gel- 
••eminura.  The  brisket  and  sides  of  the  chest  are  to  be  rubbed 
occasionally  with  mustard  and  vinegar.  This  acts  as  a  counter- 
irritant,  and  diverts  the  blood  from  the  lungs  to  the  surface.  It 
was  customary,  in  former  years,  to  bleed  and  purge  almost  all 
animals  when  attacked  with  acute  pneumonia ;  but  as  the  mor- 
tality was  then  very  great,  and  less  under  a  more  rational  sys- 
tem, we  are  led  to  believe  that  bad  treatment  was  the  cause  of 
our  want  of  success.  Two  or  three  doses  of  gelseminum,  given 
at  intervals  of  six  or  eight  hours,  will,  together  with  the  elapsed 
time,  have  a  tendency  to  modify  the  affection.  Then  active  medi- 
cation is  to  be  suspended,  and  we  immediately  give  life-sustaining 
agents,  which  consist  of  pure  air,  water,  proper  food,  tonics,  and 
stimulants.  The  best  tonics  and  stimulants  that  I  know  of 
are  powdered  golden  seal  and  ginger,  equal  parts.  Dose,  half 
an  ounce  night  and  morning,  as  a  drench;  or  two  ounces,  night 
and  morning,  of  the  fluid  extract  of  resin  weed  may  be  substituted. 
The  animal  should  have  one  ounce  of  powdered  chlorate  of  potass 
every  twelve  hours,  until  it  is  evident  that  convalescence  is  ap- 
proacning,  or  has  actually  set  in,  when  it  may  be  discontinued. 
The  best  way  to  administer  the  chlorate  of  potass,  is  to  dissolve  it 
in  a  few  quarts  of  linseed  tea,  or  an  infusion  of  slippery  tlm, 
which  should  be  kept  in  a  bucket  before  the  animal  until  he  has 
partaken  of  the  whole  of  it.  The  chlorate  of  potass  is  also  indi- 
cated as  a  valuable  agent  in  the  treatment  of  all  lung  affections, 
including  pleuro-pneumonia  and  pleurisy ;  its  use  is  to  be  discon- 
tinued, however,  when  the  urinary  secretion  becomes  much  aug- 
mented, or  it  may  overwork  the  kidneys.  Chlorate  of  potass  acts 
as  a  sedative  to  the  nervous  system  and  to  the  circulation,  and  is  a 
stimulant  to  the  digestive  organs  and  kidneys.  For  all  cases  of 
congestive  pneumonia,  or  when  the  surface  of  the  body  is  cold,  as 
well  as  the  limbs  and  ears,  warm  stimulants  are  indicated — ginger 
and  golden  seal ;  and,  if  possible,  the  body  and  limbs  should  be 
clothed,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  the  natural  heat  of  the  skin, 
and  of  producing  an  equilibrium  of  the  circulation ;  for  when  au 


118  DiDD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

equilibrium  in  the  circulation  of  the  blood  is  secured,  then  con- 
gestion ceases  to  exist. 

I  would  caution  my  readers  not  to  place  too  much  reliance  in 
art  and  medicine  for  the  cure  of  disease.  The  physician  does 
much  good  when  he  practices  rationally — constitutes  himself  the 
gervant  of  Nature,  does  her  bidding,  and  does  the  system  no  harm 
in  the  use  of  poisons  and  meddlesome  medication.  In  t.ie  treat- 
ment of  many  forms  of  curable  disease  it  is  often  i  question  of 
time;  they  will  "have  their  run."  Hence,  what  /ve  most  need 
is  patience,  great  faith  in  .Nature,  and  a  moderate  degree  of  faith 
in  drugs.  The  great  trouble  is,  our  instruction  derived  from  text- 
books and  veterinary  institutions  of  learning  tends  to  develop 
heroic  notions  of  medicine  and  its  powers,  and  to  depress  those 
more  potent  remedies,  the  vitalizing  and  reanimating  forces  of 
Nature.  A  case  of  heroism  of  this  kind,  as  an  example,  I  must 
now  relate,  in  order  to  illustrate  my  position : 

Mr.  S ,  of  Chicago,  bought  of  Mr.  P a  fine,  promising 

young  gelding,  aged  about  eight  years.  The  purchaser  had  used 
him  during  a  period  of  five  weeks  with  perfect  satisfaction.  Sud- 
denly the  newly-purchased  animal  became  sick,  and  the  services 
of  a  noted  blacksmith  were  secured.  The  man  of"  tongs  and  ham- 
mer," realizing  that  the  patient  was  the  subject  of  the  prevailing 
influenza,  gave  the  patient  "  fits,"  in  the  form  of  the  administra- 
tion of  a  physic  ball.  He  then  abstracted  two  gallons  of  blood. 
The  horse  grew  no  better  very  fast.  In  consequence,  he  got  more 
medicine.  Purgation  set  in,  which  continued  for  twenty-four 
hours,  when  the  horse  died.  The  lives  of  many  valuable  animals 
are  thus  sacrificed.  Finally,  those  men  generally  become  the  most 
distinguished  who  soonest  emancipate  themselves  from  the  theory 
of  the  heroic  schools  of  medicine. 

The  plan  of  treatment  here  recommended  may  appear  to  some 
of  our  readers  as  very  simple.  That  is  just  what  we  claim  for  it. 
It  is  the  simplicity  of  the  practice  which  makes  it  really  valuable, 
because  such  a  system  harmonizes  with  the  law  of  Nature,  and  does 
not  oppose  her  forces,  which  are  always  operating  physiologically 
for  the  restoration  of  the  sick  and  infirm ;  and  it  is  our  business, 
as  rational  physicians,  to  aid  Nature  in  all  possible  ways.  This 
is  the  kind  of  knowledge  that  we  require — how  to  aid  Nature,  or 
give  her  the  required  assistance;  and,  in  view  of  obtaining  that 
information,  we  must  read  the  great  book  of  Nature,  as  its  leave* 


iiSEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGAN?  ll'J 

hit  unfolded  to  us  in  the  various  departments  of  her  great  domain. 
\Ve  must  altogether  abandon  a  blind  faith  in  doses  of  poisonous 
•Jiedicines  and  bleedings;  otherwise,  all  our  efforts  are  as  but  a 
withering  simoom.  For  example,  over  seventy  thousand  head  of 
cattle  have  lately  perished  of  what  has  been  called  the  "rinder- 
pest/' in  and  around  the  great  city  of  London,  which  is  claimed 
to  be  the  model  seat  of  veterinary  learning  for  all  British  sub- 
jects It  is  probable  that  the  heroic  practice  there  taught  has 
something  to  do  with  this  tremendous  mortality;  for  we  learn 
that  a  more  simple  plan  of  treatment  has  been  inaugurated  by 
another  class  of  physicians,  whose  medicines  are  almost  inert,  and 
they  have  been  more  successful  than  the  advocates  of  setons,  blis- 
ters, sedatives,  and  narcotics,  not  forgetting  their  "  sheet-anchor," 
calomel — as  Napoleon  observed,  in  derision,  when  on  the  island 
of  St.  Helena,  "  Bleeding  and  calomel  for  ever  ! "  Simple,  sana- 
tive medicines  act  potently,  yet  silently,  after  the  fashion  of 
Nature's  workings ;  so  that  we  should  never  attempt  to  force  her 
to  adopt  our  system  of  cure  for  that  of  her  own. 

Pleurisy. 

Pleurisy  signifies  inflammation  of  the  pleura.  This  membrane 
lines  the  internal  surface  of  the  chest,  and  furnishes  a  covering 
to  the  organs  within  the  chest.  It  also  serves  to  divide  the 
chest  into  two  cavities,  which  are  known  as  the  right  and  left. 
This  membrane  is  similar  in  its  texture  and  function  to  that 
which  lines  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen.  Both  are  serous  mem- 
branes, secreting,  on  their  inner  s>'/face,  a  lubricating  fluid,  which 
guards  against  friction.  This  membrane  is  the  seat  of  pleurisy, 
and  pleurisy  consists  of  inflammation  of  it. 

Causes. — It  may  be  presumed  that  the  ordinary  causes  which 
produce  affections  of  the  lungs  are  operative  in  the  production 
of  this  malady,  viz. :  exposure,  by  which  the  surface  of  the  body 
becomes  chilled;  injuries  in  the  thoracic  region;  over-work;  an 
impure  atmosphere;  a  plethoric  state  of  the  system;  in  short, 
any  cause  which  is  likely  to  produce  an  inflammatory  affection 
in  other  parts  of  the  body.  I  have  known  horses  become  the 
subjects  of  this  malady  that  have  been  confined  to  the  stable 
for  weeks.  Such  cases  are  clearly  traceable  to  plethora,  want  of 
exercise,  and  impure  air.     It  is  possible  that  some  animals  inherit 


ISsO  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

a  predisposition  to  pleurisy.  It  has  been  noticed  that  animals  of 
the  sanguine  temperament  are  more  prone  to  the  malady  thao 
others  of  different  temperaments.  Hence,  the  only  way  to  prevent 
pleurisy  is  to  try  and  keep  up  a  good  standard  of  health  in  horses, 
by  affording  them  a  chance  to  have  regular  exercise,  pure  air  in 
the  stable,  and  a  fair  allowance  of  good  wholesome  food.  Pleurisy 
In  the  horse  is  very  apt  to  end  in  hydro-thorax,  or  dropsy  of  the 
chest;  and  the  case  that  I  am  now  about  to  offer  will  illustrate 
this,  as  well  as  the  symptoms  and  treatment. 

Case  of  Pleurisy  and  Dropsy  of  the  Chest. — A  few  months  ago  I 
was  requested  to  visit  a  gray  gelding,  the  property  of  a  Mr.  "Waldo. 
The  animal  had  been  out  of  health  for  a  week  or  more,  suffering 
from  a  slight  attack  of  influenza,  but  was  improving — so  thought 
the  person  who  was  in  medical  attendance ;  but  the  owner  thought 
otherwise,  and  decided  to  secure  my  services. 

Symptoms.  —  On  examination,  the  following  symptoms  were 
found  present:  Pulse,  wiry;  respirations,  quick,  laborious,  and 
accompanied  with  a  slight  grunt,  indicating  pain  within,  the  chest. 
When  pressure,  ever  so  slight,  was  made  on  the  sides  of  the  chest, 
it  elicited  very  decided  symptoms  of  pain.  The  animal  would 
occasionallv  turn  its  head  toward  the  sides,  as  if  to  inform  us  of 
the  seat  of  his  sufferings.  Dropsical  swellings  were  observed  un- 
der the  chest  and  belly,  and  the  hind  legs  were  also  dropsical,  and 
the  vascular  surfaces  of  the  mouth  and  nose  were  tinged  slightly 
yellow ;  the  feces  were  scanty,  and  the  urine  was  high-colored ; 
the  appetite  was  much  impaired,  but  the  patient  was  very  thirsty. 
On  the  strength  of  the  condition  of  the  animal,  and  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  above  symptoms,  and  percussion  revealing  water  in  the 
chest,  I  informed  my  employer  that  the  case  was  one  of  pleurisy 
and  dropsy  of  the  chest.  It  is  probable  that  water  had  been  accu- 
mulating in  the  chest  for  several  days,  and  that  the  pleura  was 
involved  at  the  commencement  of  the  malady. 

Treatment. — Dropsy  of  the  chest  is  a  very  formidable  disease  to 
treat,  and  there  are  but  few  case*  of  cure  on  record ;  yet,  I  think 
if  such  cases  came  early  into  the  Lands  of  educated  surgeons,  and 
they  use  life-sustaining  agents  in  view  of  husbanding  the  powers 
of  the  vital  forces,  more  cures  will  hereafter  be  recorded.  The 
treatment  of  this  case  was  as  follows:  I  rubbed  the  s'des  of  the 
chest  occasionally  with  a  portion  of  camphor  dissolved  in  olive  01], 
and  gave,  morning  and  evening,  during  a  period  of  seventeen  da"&= 


Jt>13rA.Si,S  OF  KEPFUL&.TOK1   1  A3J/.GE8  AND  ORGANS.         121 

thirty  g/ains  of  iodide  of  potass  in  two  lances  of  fluid  extract  of 
resin-weed  root;  an  occasional  dose  of  golden  seal  was  given  as  a 
tonic.  The  iod?de  of  potass  acted  on  the  system  as  a  glandular 
stimulant,  and  thus  increased  the  power  of  the  absorbents  and  ex- 
crement; t;ous  vessels,  to  rid  the  chest  of  its  Sum!  contents,  while 
the  resin-root  acted  as  a  diuretic,  thereby  carrying  off  some  of  the 
fluid  by  way  of  the  kidneys.  During  the  period  of  the  sickness 
o*"  this  animal,  the  resonance  of  the  chest  gradua^v  became  clear, 
so  that  at  the  end  of  three  weeks  not  more  than  a  coaple  of  pints 
of  serum  remained  in  the  chest.    The  animal  rapidly  convalesced. 

During  the  treatment  of  such  a  case  as  the  above,  I  usually  feed 
the  animal  liberally  on  oats  and  sweet  hay ;  and,  in  order  to  obvi- 
ate constipation,  I  order  an  occasional  bran-mash.  The  animal, 
however,  may  not,  at  the  commencement,  have  much  relish  for 
food,  but  after  a  few  doses  of  the  medicine  here  recommended  have 
been  given,  the  appetite  will  soon  be  restored.  It  will  be  noticed, 
during  the  progress  of  this  malady,  that  the  animal  does  not  lie 
down,  but  stands  with  the  fore-legs  widely  apart,  although,  at  the 
very  commencement  of  acute  pleurisy,  the  subject  will  often  get 
down,  in  view  of  mitigating  the  lancinating  pain  from  which  he 
suffers,  in  consequence  of  the  distension  of  the  vessels  of  the  pleura. 
Pleurisy  sometimes  sets  in  as  an  accompaniment  of  influenza, 
which  almost  always  ends  in  dropsy  of  the  chest ;  and  as  a  case  ol 
this  kind  is  a  good  one  to  place  on  record,  I  here  introduce  one 
from  my  note-book : 

Pleurisy  ending  in  Dropsy  and  Death. — The  horse,  the  subject 
of  the  above-named  maladies,  was  the  property  of  a  milkman  of 
Chicago.  The  animal  had  been  previously  treated  for  the  prevail- 
ing influenza,  accompanied  by  pleurisy,  and  had  about  recovered 
so  as  to  take  daily  exercise ;  but  finally  the  owner  discovered  that 
the  horse  was  suddenly  taken  with  a  relapse.  Feeling  alarmed, 
he  procured  one  pint  of  linseed  oil,  with  which  he  drenched  the 
animal.  Still,  the  horse  rapidly  grew  worse.  At  this  period,  my 
services  were  sought.  On  auscultating  and  percussing  the  chest, 
I  found  that  the  right  cavity  was  occupied  by  a  large  quantity  of 
water.  Dropsical  swellings  were  found  in  various  parts  of  the 
body,  viz. :  the  sheath,  limbs,  and  region  of  the  pectoral  muscles. 
On  applying  the  ear  to  the  trachea,  the  respiration  was  of  a  mucous 
character,  and  tubular,  showing  that  the  lungs  were  much  diseased. 
The  examination  revealed  the  tact  that  about  one-half  the  left  ]ung 


122  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

»vas  involved  iu  disease.  The  animal  had  no  appethV,  yet  waa 
thirsty ;  and  when  urged  to  move,  would  utter  a  grunt,  indicative 
of  pain.  It  was  evident  that  the  relapse  was,  or  might  be,  con- 
sidered a  case  of  pleurisy,  ending  in  effusion  into  the  chest.  The 
worst  feature  of  the  case  was  that  the  animal  purged  violently 
(liquid  stools),  having  a  very  strong  odor  of  linseed  oil;  it  covered 
a  large  space  on  the  floor,  and  ran  down  his  hind  extremities 
This  seemed  to  me  to  render  the  case  hopeless ;  for  super-purgation 
of  itself  will  often  cause  the  death  of  an  otherwise  well  animal. 
But  this  poor  creature  was  laboring  under  a  malady  from  which 
few  ever  recover.  However,  I  thought  that  while  "there  is  life 
there  is  hope,"  and  I  commenced  the  treatment  by  performing 
the  operation  of  tapping  for  dropsy  of  the  chest.  1  drew  off 
three  and  a  half  gallons  of  fluid,  of  a  light  straw  cohjr,  from  the 
right  cavity  of  the  chest.  On  auscultating  the  chest,  both  sides 
appeared  resonant,  showing  that  the  waters  must  have  occupied 
both  cavities;  hence,  the  mediastinum  (the  membrane  which  di- 
vides the  thorax  into  two  equal  cavities)  must  have  been  ruptured 
thus  permitting  an  influx  and  reflux  of  the  fluid.  Next,  counter- 
irritants  were  applied  to  both  sides  of  the  chest.  The  patient  was 
properly  clothed,  tonics  and  astringents  were  given,  and  the  case 
was  left  in  the  care  of  an  attendant  for  the  night.  Next  day  I 
found  the  patient  was  respiring  very  comfortably.  The  tapping 
of  the  chest  seemed  to  have  done  much  good,  yet  the  purging  still 
continued ;  so  I  ordered  scalded  milk  and  charcoal,  and  adminis- 
tered tonics  and  stimulants,  as  before.  But  it  was  very  evident 
that  the  animal  must  die  of  super-purgation,  and  next  morning  I 
received  word  that  death  had  taken  place.  It  was  unfortunate, 
under  the  circumstances,  that  the  owner  should  have  given  linseed 
oil ;  for  it  is  a  very  powerful  irritant  and  cathartic,  and  produces 
much  irritation  and  inflammation  on  the  surface  of  the  interior 
of  the  stomach  and  intestines,  as  well  as  uncontrollable  purga- 
tion. It  is  a  remedy  which  is  very  quickly  absorbed,  and  finds  its 
way  into  the  blood  in  a  very  few  minutes,  as  the  following  case 
will  show :  I  once  gave  a  horse  a  dose  of  linseed  oil  for  the  pur- 
pose of  experiment.  (He  happened  to  be  in  good  health,  or  I 
should  probably  have  lost  him.)  Ten  minutes  after  administer- 
ing the  dose,  I  applied  a  linen  handkerchief  to  the  highly  organ- 
ized membrane  lining  the  eyelid,  and  both  the  odor  and  color  of 
the  oil  could  easily  be  detected.     On  exposing  the  handkerchief 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.        123 

to  a  moderate  degree  of  heat,  for  the  purpose  of  evaporation,  a 
grease  spot  remained  on  the  same ;  hence  it  is  an  agent  that  should 
never  be  used  in  pleurisy,  nor  in  any  disease  occurring  in  the  or- 
gans of  respiration.  Dropsical  diseases,  supervening  on  influenza, 
are  never  benefited  by  cathartics,  for  they  always  lead  to  debility 
and  prostration.  Influenza  is  a  disease  of  very  prostrating  char- 
acter; hence  the  proper  plan  of  treatment  is  to  sustain  the  vital 
power,  by  nourishing  diet,  tonics,  and  stimulants — ginger  and 
golden  seal.  While  commenting,  however,  on  the  linseed  oil 
treatment,  I  do  not  wish  to  censure  the  owner  of  the  animal ;  for 
I  should  be  throwing  stones  into  glass  houses,  having  myself,  in 
former  years,  used  and  recommended  this  kind  of  oil  for  various 
diseases;  but,  after  many  mishaps,  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  unsafe 
in  the  treatment  of  equine  affections. 

Pericarditis  (Inflammation  of  Pericardium), 

(Sometimes  called  "Heart  Disease.") 

The  pericardium  is  a  membranous  sac,  which  surrounds  and 
incloses  the  heart.  It  is  composed  of  two  layers,  united  by  cel- 
lular tissue.  The  external  layer  is  dense  and  fibrous,  and  is 
attached,  by  ligaments,  to  the  sternum,  or  breast-bone  and  dia- 
phragm, and  above  to  the  roots  of  the  large  blood-vessels.  The 
internal  layer  exhibits  internally  a  smooth  surface,  like  the  lining 
membrane  of  the  cavity  of  the  chest.  From  this  surface  is  secreted 
a  serous  fluid,  which  lubricates  the  heart,  and  protects  it  from  the 
friction  which  would  otherwise  occur.  The  pericardium  is  a  wall 
of  defense  for  the  heart,  and  keeps  it  in  its  proper  position. 

Pericarditis  signifies  inflammation  of  the  inner  membrane  of 
the  pericardium.  It  is  a  disease  which  is  almost  unknown  to  the 
ordinary  practitioner  in  this  country,  and  entirely  unknown  to 
the  husbandman ;  yet  it  is  a  disease  that  carries  off  a  large  number 
of  horses  and  cattle,  and  often  the  parties  concerned  in  the  treat- 
ment and  ownership  of  the  animals  do  not  even  suspect  the  true 
nature  of  the  malady.  After  the  inflammatory  action  of  the  per- 
icardium has  reigned  for  several  days,  unsuspected  and  un- 
checked, an  inordinate  effusion  from  the  serous  lining  takes  place. 
We  then  have  dropsy  of  the  "  heart-bag."  Water  accumulates 
around  the  heart,  which  interferes  with  its  action  so  as  to  put  a 
stop  to  circulation,  and  this  results  in  the  death  of  the  animal. 
Pericarditis  -rften  accompanies,  or  is  the  sequel  of,  pleurisy  and 


124  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

otl.er  diseases  of  the  serous  membranes;  yet,  fortunately  for  the 
patient  as  well  as  the  practitioner,  it  does  not  require  any  special 
treatment  other  than  that  laid  down  for  pleurisy  and  disease  of 
other  serous  membranes. 

Causes. — The  causes  of  pericarditis  are  the  same  as  those  which 
are  said  to  be  operative  in  the  production  of  pleurisy  and  disease 
in  the  serous  membrane,  viz. :  sudden  impressions  of  cold  upon 
the  external  surface  of  the  body;  injuries;  overtasking  the  pow- 
ers of  the  animal  by  laborious  and  rapid  work.  Sometimes 
foreign  bodies,  such  as  pins  and  needles,  have  been  found  within 
the  pericardium,  which  must  have  been  taken  into  the  stomach 
with  the  food,  and  have  worked  their  way  so  as  to  penetrate  the 
pericardium  and  heart.     Such  cases  almost  always  prove  fatal. 

Symptoms. — The  general  symptoms  of  the  disease  are  anxiety, 
shivering,  coldness  of  the  skin  and  mouth,  loss  of  appetite ;  the 
jugular  veins  are  congested,  and  they  pulsate  like  an  artery ;  there 
is  a  sort  of  tinkling  or  metallic  sound,  when  the  ear  is  applied  to 
the  chest  and  lower  part  of  the  neck.  In  the  latter  stages  the 
respiratory  murmur  becomes  very  indistinct,  and  there  is  a  sort 
of  double  expiration,  and  the  ribs  become  contorted,  the  same  as 
in  dropsy  of  the  chest. 

Treatment. — The  heat  of  the  external  surface  of  the  body  must 
be  restored,  and  kept  uniform  by  means  of  leggings  and  body 
clothing.  Both  sides  of  the  chest  are  to  be  briskly  rubbed,  two  or 
three  times  daily,  with  hot  vinegar  and  strong  mustard.  One 
drachm  of  iodide  of  potass,  dissolved  in  five  ounces  of  warm  water, 
should  be  given  every  four  hours ;  hut,  should  the  case  be  seen, 
and  the  true  nature  of  the  malady  discovered  in  its  early  stages, 
omit  the  iodide  of  potass,  and  substitute  two  fluid  drachms  of  tinc- 
1  tire  of  gelseminum.  Two  or  three  doses,  at  intervals  of  four  hours, 
will  suffice ;  then  resort  to  the  iodide  of  potass,  or  substitute  for 
the  same  four  drachms  of  chlorate  of  potass.  So  soon  as  the  animal 
appears  to  improve,  discontinue  the  above-named  medicine,  and 
give  tonics.  Four  drachms  of  fluid  extract  of  golden  seal,  twice 
daily,  wi     suffice. 

A  fatal  case  of  pure  pericarditis  is  related  by  Mr.  Woodgee, 
V.  S.,  in  the  London  "  Veterinarian."  The  autopsy  revealed  a 
healthy  state  of  the  lungs  and  pleura ;  yet  the  pericardium  con- 
tained about  three  quarts  of  serum,  highly  colored.  The  walls  of 
the  pericardium  were  considerably  thickened,  and  studded  with 


DISEASES  OF  RESPIRATORY  PASSAGES  AND  ORGANS.         125 

merous  bands  of  lymph,  on  the  inner  surface,  of  a  bright  yellow 
color.  Several  small  patches  of  inflammation  were  likewise  ob- 
served on  the  ventricles  of  the  heart,  near  the  valves  of  this 
organ.  The  heart  itself  was  also  larger  than  usual,  and  much 
softened. 

Heaves. 

A  disease  prevails  among  horses,  more  particularly  in  the 
Eastern  States,  known  as  heaves.  The  affected  animal  heaves  at 
the  flanks,  or,  rather,  performs  what  is  known  as  abdominal  respi- 
ration, by  bringing  into  play,  at  the  moment  of  expiration,  the 
abdominal  muscles,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  lungs  and  dia- 
phragm in  the  function  of  expiration  and  respiration.  The 
disease  somewhat  resembles  asthma,  it  being  of  a  spasmodic 
character,  and,  after  continuing  for  some  time,  will  suddenly 
disappear.  The  disease  may  be  defined  as  being  great  diffi- 
culty in  breathing ;  continuous ;  aggravated,  by  dust  on  the  road, 
musty  hay,  improper  provender,  impure  air,  and  sudden  atmos- 
pheric changes.  On  applying  the  ear  in  the  region  of  bronchi, 
or  to  the  upper  sides  of  the  chest,  a  wheezing  sound  of  respira- 
tion is  heard.  These  symptoms,  together  with  the  heaving  motion 
at  the  flanks,  constitutes  heaves.  When  the  disease  is  merely 
functional — that  is  to  say,  brought  on  by  feeding  musty  hay  and 
musty  clover — a  cure  is  affected  by  feeding  prairie  hay,  which 
contains  the  well-known  silphyum,  "  resin  weed."  The  husband- 
men who  reside  in  the  vicinity  of  where  the  resin  weed  grows 
are  well  acquainted  with  the  properties  of  this  plant,  and  they 
declare  that  it  is  a  specific  for  the  treatment  of  asthma  or  heaves. 
I  have  used  the  article  in  the  form  of  fluid  extract,  prepared  from 
the  root,  and  I  find  it  to  be  a  very  valuable  remedy.  The  dose 
of  the  fluid  extract  is  two  ounces,  morning  and  evening.  There 
are  some  cases,  however,  which  are  incurable,  owing  to  organic 
disease  of  the  bronchi,  or  rupture  of  air-cells  in  the  lungs.  Such 
cases  are  known  by  the  unnatural  respiration  when  the  horre  is 
drawing  a  heavy  load  or  traveling  up  hill.  His  breathing  is  then 
very  distressing,  and  he  not  only  brings  into  play  the  abdominal 
muscles,  but  also  the  muscles  of  the  chest  (intercostals).  Such 
cases,  although  considered  incurable,  may  be  palliated  by  the  daily 
use  of  fluid  extract  of  resin  weed.  Provided  prairie  hay  can  not 
be  obtained  as  food,  the  ordinary  hay  used  should  be  sprinkled 


126 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


with  salted  water,  in  the  proportion  of  a  handful  of  salt  to  one 
bucket  of  water.  Sprinkling  the  hay  with  weak  lime-water  has 
also  a  good  effect.  Sliced  carrots,  parsnips,  or  potatoes,  fed  occa- 
sionally, are  also  beneficial.  But,  of  all  our  remedies,  none  equals 
a  run  at  grass  on  prairie  lands. 


MAIN  ARTERIES  ON  THE  INSIDE  OP  ONE  OF  THE  FORE-LEGS,  FROM 

SHOULDER  TO  KNEE. 


1.  Humeral  thoracic. 

2.  Axillary. 

3.  Interna*  thoracic. 

4.  Dorsal  scapular. 

5.  External  thoracic, 

6.  Humeral. 


Explanation  of  Plate 

7 


Brachial. 

Branches  of  the  triceps. 
9.  Ulnar  branches. 

10.  Spiral  branches. 

11.  Kadial  branches. 

12.  Metacarpal  arteries,  large  and  sma!L 


SECTION  V. 

DENTITION    AND    DIET. 

The  Horse's  Age  as  shown  by  his  Teeth — On  the  Diet  of  Horses — The  effects 
of  various  kinds  of  Food — As  regards  the  quantity  of  Food  required — 

AS   REGARDS  CHANGES  IN  DlET CONCLUSION. 


The  Horse's  Age  as  shown  by  his  Teeth. 

FIGURE  1  is  a  representation  of  a  foal's  "  mouth"  as  it  ap- 
pears at  the  age  of  twelve  months ;  the  temporary  teeth  are 
shown,  and  all,  except  the  corner  ones,  are  worn  quite  smooth. 
(See  remarks  on  temporary  teeth.)  Figure  2,  a  two-years  old; 
the  two  anterior,  or  front  temporary  teeth,  are  shed,  and  the  per- 
manent ones,  with  their  deep  pit  in  the  center,  and  unworn  edges, 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


TEMPORARY   TEETH  OF  THE  COLT. 


TWO   YEARS  OLD. 


are  approaching  a  level  with  the  remaining  temporary.  Figure  3, 
a  three-years  old ;  the  two  permanent  middle  teeth  are  seen,  with 
their  deep  pits,  etc.,  and  are  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  two  front 
permanent  teeth,  which  are  smoothed  down.  Figure  4,  a  four- 
years  old ;  the  permanent  corner  teeth  are  now  "  cut,"  and  the 
tushes  have  appeared,  although  the  latter  may  not  appear  until 

(127) 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

five.  Figure  5,  a  fiv.e-years  old;  the  corner  teeth  are  well  up; 
the  faces  of  the  front  and  middle  are  worn  more  or  less,  and 
the  tushes  are  more  developed.  Figure  6,  a  six-years  old;  the 
black  marks  have  disappeared  from  the  two  front  teeth,  and  a 


Fig.  a 


0 


THREE   YEARS   OLD. 


FOUR   YEARS   OLD. 


brownish  mark  is  perceivable.  Figure  7,  a  seven-years  old ;  the 
black  marks  have  now  disappeared  from  the  two  middle  teeth,  and 
a  brown  spot  is  seen  in  the  center.  Figure  8,  an  eight-years  old; 
the  marks  and  cavities  of  the  corner  teeth  are  now  effaced.  Fig- 
ure 9  is  a  horizontal  view  of  "  Black  Hawk's  "  incisors,  and,  con- 


Fig.  5. 


c<- 


Fig.  6. 


>         I 


FIVE   YEARS  OLD. 


: 


SIX   YEARS   OLD. 


w 


trasted  with  figure  10,  (a  young  mouth,)  shows  the  degree  of 
inclination  existing  between  the  incisors  of  the  aged  and  young 
animals. 

The  Colt's  Mouth. — Remarks  on  the  Temporary  Tedh.     {In- 
cisors^)   In  the  course  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  days  after  birth  (varying 


DENTITION  AND  DIET. 


129 


occasionally),  the  front  nippers  in  the  upper  and  lower  jaw  makd 
tlieir  appearance,  and,  during  the  period,  which  occurs  between 
the  third  and  fifth  week,  the  middle  incisors  appear.  Between  the 
seventh  and  ninth  month  the  lateral  or  corner  teeth  are  cut.     The 


Fi§.  7. 


Fig. 


-1  \  EN    YEARS   OLD. 


EIGHT   TEAKS    OLD. 


colt  is  now  in  possession  of  a  full  set  of  temporary  incisors.  These 
temporary,  or  "  milk  "  teeth,  differ  from  the  permanent  ones  by 
being  much  smaller  and  (previous  to  shedding)  whiter,  having  on 
their  anterior  or  front  surfaces  grooves  or  furrows;  also  a  well- 
defined  body,  neck,  and  slender  fang.  They  also  present  oval 
surfaces  anteriority,  or  in  front ;  and  within  the  mouth  they  are 
concave.  Their  surfaces  are  generally  uniform  and  smooth,  and 
resemble  the  eye  of  an  English  horse-bean. 

Fig.  9. 


HORIZONTAL  VIEW  Or  OLD   BLACK    HAWK'S   INCISORS  AND  TCSHEB. 


The  Permanent  Teeth. — Constitutional  idiosyncrasies  are 
often  operative  in  hastening  or  retarding  dentition,  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  food,  whether  it  be  natural  or  artificial;  and  the 
9 


130 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


mode  of  obtaining  the  one  or  the  other  makes  considerable  differ- 
ence in  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  same,  consequently  we  must 
boar  in  mind  that  the  popular  theory  of  "  age  "  is  sometimes  more 
arbitrary  than  truthful,  and  allowances  for  the  same  must  be 
made.  At  the  age  of  two,  or  a  few  months  over,  the  front  perma- 
nent teeth  ought  to  appear,  and,  consequently,  at  the  age  of  three, 
varying  a  few  months,  the  middle  teeth  are  up.  At  four,  varying 
as  in  the  preceding  cases,  the  corner  teeth  begin  to  show  them=> 
selves,  and  are  not  up  square  with  the  others  until  the  fifth  year. 
The  animal  now  emerges  from  colthood,  and  is  known  as  a  horse. 
As  regards  the  female,  during  her  minority  she  is  termed  "filly  ;  " 
at  five  she  enters  the  adult  stage,  and,  consequently,  is  denomi- 


Fig.  10. 


A   YOUNG   HORSE'S   MOUTH. 


nated  a  mare.  Supposing  the  horse  to  have  a  full  set  of  nippers, 
or  incisors,  at  the  age  of  five,  the  marks,  or  black  incrustation, 
will  have  so  worn  away  at  six  as  to  leave  a  faint  brown  mark 
At  seven,  similar  appearances  have  taken  place  in  the  two  next, 
or  middle,  teeth.  At  eight  the  marks,  or  rather  the  cavities,  of 
the  two  next,  or  corner  teeth,  are  now  about  obliterated,  and  the 
face  of  the  teeth  are  nearly  level,  and  the  central  enamel  is  nearer 
the  inward  than  the  outward  border.  After  the  marks  have  all 
disappeared  in  the  lower  jaw,  the  exact  age  can  not  clearly  be 
shown.  At  the  age  of  nine  the  front  teeth  appear  somewhat 
rounded;  the  middle  and  corner  ones  contract  their  oval  faces, 
and  the  central  enamel  diminishes  and  approaches  the  inward 
border.  At  ten  the  middle  incisors  resemble  those  at  nine,  and 
the  central  enamel  has  approximated  the  inward  border  and  is 
rounded.     At  el^en  the  middle  teeth  resemble  those  at  ten,  and 


DENTITION  AND  DIET. 


131 


the  central  enamel  is  almost  worn  off.  At  twelve  the  corner  teeth 
take  oh  the  triangular  form,  and  their  central  enamel  is  very  con- 
tracted, and  a  yellow  mark  is  left.  At  thirteen  the  sides  of  the 
front  teeth  thicken,  and  they  begin  to  assume  a  triangular  appear- 
ance, and  the  whole  incisors  of  the  lower  jaw  complete  the  trian- 
gular form  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  At  eighteen  the  front  teeth 
are  somewhat  flattened  from  side  to  side ;  the  flattening  goes  on 
in  the  middle  and  comer  teeth,  and  is  completed  at  the  age  of 
iwenty-one,  giving  them  the  appearance  of  a  reversed  oval.  As 
regards  the  marks  in  the  upper  incisors,  they  disappear  from  the 
front  teeth  in  the  course  of  the  ninth  year,  from  the  middle  in  the 
tenth,  and  from  the  corner  or  lateral  ones  in  the  eleventh  year ; 


Fig.  11. 


A   PORTION    OF    THE    LOWER    JAW    OF   OI.I>    BLACK     HAWK, 

(Aged  twenty-three  years  and  eight  months.) 


and  as  the  animal  increases  in  years,  the  upper  corner  teeth  be- 
come indented  or  notched.  The  inclination  of  the  teeth  enables 
us  to  form  some  idea  of  the  horse's  age.  In  a  young  horse,  the 
teeth  are  upright  (see  fig.  10);  after  the  age  of  eight  they  gradu- 
ally become  horizontal,  (see  "Black  Hawk's"  mouth,)  and  the 
upper  teeth  overlap  the  under  ones,  and  thus  wear  off  their  outer 


edge. 


The  Tushes,  or  Canine  Teeth. — Between  the  ages  of  four 
and  six  the  tushes,  which,  in  the  male,  are  four  in  number,  make 
their  appearance.  In  shape  they  are  conical,  with  a  sharp  point, 
and  curved.  On  the  inside  there  are  two  furrows,  which  com- 
mence at  the  base  and  meet  at  the  apex,  leaving  a  triangular 
eminence  between  them.  The  sharpness  of  the  apex,  the  degree 
of  curvature,  and  the  distinctness  of  the  furrows  are  good  crite- 
rions  of  youth ;  for,  as  the  animal  advances  in  years,  the  tushes 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


become  blunt,  less  angular,  and  more  rounded,  and  the  furrows 
have  disappeared.  Supposing  that  the  tushes  are  not  completely 
evolved  until  the  age  of  Jive;  in  the  sixth  year  the  apex  of  the 
cone  is  worn  some;  in  the  seventh  the  furrows  grow  shallow;  in 
the  eighth  year  they  are  obliterated,  after  which  period  the  apex 
gradually  wears  away,  and  the  body  of  the  same  becomes  rounded 
and  pointed,  or  blunt,  according  to  circumstances.  Aside  from 
the  teeth,  an  aged  horse  may  be  known  by  the  deep  pits  above  the 
orbital  processes ;  the  sunken  eye  ;  by  the  prominence  of  the  joints 
and  loss  of  plumpness  in  the  muscles ;  the  lips  are  somewhat  pen- 
dulous ;  the  withers  sharp ;  the  back  becomes  arched ;  the  teeth  • 
are  lengthened,  and  become  yellow. 


Fig.  12. 


A  PORTION  OF  THE   UPPF.E  JAW  OP  OLD  BLACK  HAWK, 

(Aged  twenty -three  years  and  eight  months.) 


The  Grinders,  or  Molars,  afford  but  very  little  information 
as  regards  the  precise  age  of  a  horse.  As  he  advances  in  years, 
however,  the  outer  edges  become  sharpened,  so  that  it  often  be- 
comes necessary  to  rasp  them.  As  regards  their  development,  it 
is  understood  that  the  foal  is  born  with  two  upper  and  lower 
grinders  in  each  jaw.  At  the  end  of  a  month,  sometimes  more,  a 
third  appears.  At  the  completion  of  the  first  year,  or  thereabouts, 
a  fourth  grinder  in  each  jaw  appears.  Thus  the  yearling  has  six- 
teen grinders.  At  the  age  of  two,  a  fifth  grinder  appears,  and  at 
the  age  of  three  the  sixth  and  last  appear.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  cribbers  and  voracious  feeders  are  apt  to  deface  their  teeth, 
and  thus  some  persons  are  apt  to  be  deceived  as  regards  the  exact 
age;  but  a  good  judge,  who  takes  into  consideration  not  only  the 
appearances  of  the  surfaces,  but  also  the  marks,  points,  and  the 
inclination  of  the  teeth,  will  not  be  apt  to  make  any  grave  mistake. 


J>£tfTITION  AND  DIET.  133 


i  »n  ra*.  Diet  of  Horses — (Men  often  Dig  their  Graves 
with  iheir  Teeth,  and  the  same  is  true  as  regards 
Horsed)  —  Variety   of   Food   necessary  —  Effects  of 

certain   kinds  of   food as  regards    the  requisite 

quantity;  etc. 

It  is  admitted  by  medical  men,  and  the  experience  of  the  reader 
may  possibly  have  confirmed  the  fact,  that  a  great  proportion  ci 
the  diseases  occurring  among  live  stock  are  produced,  either  di- 
rectly or  indirectly,  by  errors  in  diet ;  consequently  the  means  of 
prevention  should  be  known,  and  used  accordingly. 

No  special  form  of  diet  can,  for  any  great  length  of  time,  pre- 
serve the  integrity  of  the  animal  system.  In  order  to  substan- 
tiate this  assertion,  we  shaT  show  the  effect  of  simple  elementary 
principles  on  the  body  o/  man,  inferring,  at  the  same  time,  that 
man's  servant,  the  horse,  h  included.  The  reader  has  probably 
heard  of  the  experiment  made  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  which 
was  that  of  trying  to  supply  ihs  nutritive  wants  of  his  system  by 
living  on  a  concentrated  prepniilon  of  beef,  in  the  form  of  jells". 
He  gave  it  a  fair  trial,  yet  cams  very  near  starving  on  the  same- 
and  he  was  led  lo  remark  that  ike  stomach  was  a  sort  of  scav- 
enger, which  required  a  given  amount  of  rubbish  to  sort  from, 
and  select  the  necessary  elements  for  renovating  the  tissues.  He 
probably  selected  jelly  because  it  is  Lnghly  nutritious,  containing 
more  of  the  flesh-making  principle  than  most  articles  of  food 
It  was  rich,  not  only  in  nitrogen,  but  atao  in  oxygen,  hydrogen, 
and  carbon,  four  of  the  principal  elements  which  compose  the 
animal  fabric. 

The  fact  is,  no  single  article  of  diet,  let  n  be  ever  £  i  rich  in  the 
elements  of  organized  tissues,  can  long  support  life.  A  nation  of 
men  subsisting  long  on  a  simple  form  of  die*,  without  variety 
would  soon  become  emaciated,  and  die  of  innutrition.  Let  the 
Grahamites  abstain  from  milk,  and  live  on  bread  and  water,  and 
they  would  soon  exterminate  themselves.  Milk  is  a  highly  nu- 
tritious compound,  and  furnishes  their  systems  mth  the  equiva- 
lents that  we  obtain  from  beef  and  mutton.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  "  Celestial  Empire "  (Chinese)  are  great  consumers  of  rice. 
It  is  the  principal  article  of  diet  among  the  poorer  classes,  many 
of  whom   are  Jank  and  lean,  and  would  make  very  respectable 


134  DADB'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SCRGERi. 

walking  lanterns,  (if  lighted  candles  were  placed  within  their 
abdomens),  only  they  happen,  occasionally,  to  catch  a  stray  dog 
or  pig,  on  which  they  make  a  savory  meal,  and  thus  furnish  the 
material  for  the  formation  of  muscle  and  fat. 

Magendie  has  proved  that  even  the  canine  race  can  not  live 
more  than  forty  days  on  any  single  article  of  diet,  let  it  be  ever 
so  nutritious,  for  it  is  either  followed  bv  starvation  or  disease ; 
hence  the  necessity  for  variety  in  food.  In  allusion  to  disease 
being  produced  by  the  long-continued  use  of  a  single  article  of 
diet,  I  would  mention  that  the  Scotch  peasants  are  great  con- 
sumers of  oat-meal.  This  article  is  little  inferior  to  wheat  in  the 
flesh-making  principle,  and  we  might  naturally  infer  that  an  arti- 
cle of  diet  so  valuable  and  palatable,  when  properly  cooked,  should 
tend  to  promote  health.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  Those 
who  eat  the  most  oat-meal  are,  according  to  medical  testimony, 
the  notorious  subjects  of  intestinal  concretions,  and  in  the  EdiD- 
b'urg  Anatomical  Museum  is  to  be  seen  a  vast  and  valuable  col- 
lection of  intestinal  calculi,  most  of  which  caused  the  deaths  of 
confirmed  oat-meal  consumers. 

Dr.  Carpenter,  an  eminent  physiologist,  says  that  "no  fact 
in  dietetics  is  better  established  than  that  concerning  the  impos- 
sibility of  long  sustaining  health  and  life  on  a  single  alimentary 
principle.  Neither  pure  albumen,  fibrine,  gelatine,  gum,  sugary 
starch,  fat,  nor  oil,  taken  alone,  can  serve  for  the  due  nutrition  of 
the  body.  This  is  partly  due  to  their  failing  in  supplying  the 
waste  of  the  tissues,  and  partly  to  the  fact  that  single  alimentaiy 
»ubstances,  long  continued,  excite  such  a  feeling  of  disgust  that 
I  he  animals  experimented  on  seem  to  prefer  the  endurance  of 
starvation  to  the'  ingestion  of  the  same." 

The  reader  is  probably  aware  that  when  ;\  person  has  long  been 
confined  to  any  particular  article  of  diet,  a  craving  for  something 
else  is  experienced,  which  very  few  persons  can  resist.  Thi* 
teaches  us  that,  in  order  to  preserve  the  health  of  live  stock,  we 
must  vary  the  diet,  and  are  not  to  be  over-particular  in  selecting 
the  most  nutritious  articles.  But  we  want,  as  Napoleon  says,  a 
little  rubbish — coarse  rubbish,  The  internal  surface  of  the  stom- 
ach and  bowels  require  to  be  irritated  once  in  awhile,  and  this 
probably  was  the  idea  which  Graham  had  when  he  first  recom- 
mended coarse  food.  The  stomach  must  be  iride  to  labor  hard 
at  times,  or  its  function  will  deteriorate.     Perse  is  whe  complain. 


DENTITION  AND  DIET.  135 

of  weak  stomachs  and  dyspepsia  are  those  who  live  on  dainty 
viands,  and  seldom,  if  ever,  distend  that  organ  to  a  healthy 
rapacity  with  coarse  material.  Consider,  for  a  moment,  the  con- 
dition of  Spanish  and  Italian  peasants.  They  have  not  much  of 
our  national  disease  (dyspepsia)  among  them.  The  bread  that 
ilh'y  eat  is  made  of  coarse  material;  yet  with  that,  and  the  addition 
of  a  little  oil,  wine,  and  a  few  vegetables,  they  can  indure  greater 
fatigue,  and  often  carry  a  heavier  burden  than  he  who  lives  on 
more  concentrated  food.  We  may  distend  the  horse's  stomach 
with  coarse  foot!,  and,  perhaps,  not  impair  its  function  so  much  as 
when  overburdened  writh  meal  and  concentrated  food. 

The  stomach  must  be  made  to  wrork  for  a  living  once  in 
awhile.  Hard  work  agrees  with  it,  and  coarse  fodder  stimulates 
and  develops  its  latent  powers,  and  augments  the  gastric  secretion, 
which  is  the  active  solvent  of  the  food.  Labor  operates  on  the 
stomach  in  the  same  manner  and  in  the  same  ratio  that  it  does 
on  the  brain  or  muscles — increases  their  capacity.  Compare,  for 
example,  the  brawny  arm  of  the  mechanic  with  that  of  the  count- 
ing-house clerk,  or  the  powerful  muscles  of  the  truck  and  farm- 
horse  with  those  of  the  pet  saddle-horse.  This  comes  of  work, 
hard  work.  See  the  king  of  birds,  the  eagle,  towering  above  and 
beyond  the  sight  and  ken  of  man,  darting,  with  almost  lightning 
upeed,  from  mountain  to  valley,  buffeting  the  rude  shocks  of 
heaven's  artillery.  He  acquires  strength  of  muscle  and  wing  by 
extraordinary. exertion  and  desperate  feats  of  flight.  After  the 
tame  fashion  we  develop  the  mental  faculties,  augment  protracted 
mental  labor,  close  thought,  and  study,  light  up  the  intellectual 
nature  of  man,  and  develop  the  latent  powers  of  his  brain ;  and 
the  more  his  mind  acquires,  the  greater  and  more  varied  are  its 
powers. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  various  functions 
of  the  body  require  periods  of  rest ;  for,  should  a  horse  be  permit- 
ted to  stand  up  to  a  full  crib,  and  spend  the  greater  part  of  t.e 
dav  and  night  in  cramming  his  stomach,  disease,  sooner  or  later, 
must  surely  occur.  The  same  is  true  as  regards  man.  Let  an 
individual  gormandize  through  the  day,  and  then  indulge  in  a 
late  supper,  and  continue  the  practice,  he  soon  acquires  a  sympa- 
thetic headache,  or  the  stomach  grows  refractory,  and  casts  up  the 
burden,  for  the  simple  reason  that  its  function  is  overtaxed.  It 
must  have  rest.     The  same  rule  applies  to  the  muaeular  and  men- 


136  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

fat  natures.  If,  therefore,  hard  labor  develops  the  function  of 
either,  rest,  at  suital  le  intervals,  preserves  their  integrity,  and, 
therefore,  must  not  be  disregarded. 

In  selecting  food  for  working  animals,  we  must  remember  that 
they  require  certain  inorganic  equivalents,  which  seem  to  be  as 
necessary  for  the  support  of  the  system  as  nutriment.  Salt,  for 
example,  is  not  nutritious;  yet  neither  man  nor  brute  can  long 
exist  without  it.  Common  salt,  chloride  of  sodium,  is  deccrc- 
posed  in  the  stomach,  and  is  there  found  in  the  form  of  muriatic 
acid  and  soda.  The  former  is  supposed  to  aid  digestion,  and  the 
latter  eliminates  bile.  Neither  is  phosphorus  (found  in  straw) 
nutritious,  yet  that  article  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  support 
of  animal  life.  It  is  an  element  of  both  vegetable  and  animal 
organization.  The  former  absorbs  it  from  the  soil,  and,  in  turn; 
yield  it  to  animals,  by  the  process  of  digestion.  Oats  and  beans 
are  nitrogenous  compounds,  flesh-making  equivalents,  yet  they 
furnish  only  one  part  in  a  thousand  of  the  article  we  need — phos- 
phorus; while  cut  straw,  potatoes,  and  several  other  "inferior" 
vegetables,  contain  more  than  double  the  quantity  of  the  same ; 
so  that  a  horse  must  eat  such  rubbish  as  straw,  potatoes,  carrots, 
beets,  and  "stubble,"  in  order  to  supply  the  necessary  material. 
Then  consider  that  sulphur,  iron,  chlorine,  lime,  potassium,  mag- 
nesium, and  several  other  mineral  substances,  not  in  the  least 
nutritious,  are  alike  necessary  for  the  support  and  integrity  of 
the  living  organism,  and,  therefore,  should  be  the  elements  of 
food.  Some  articles  furnish  the  needful  in  abundance ;  in  others 
there  is  a  deficiency.  This  supplies  another  argument  in  favor 
of  variations  in  diet. 

A  lecturer  on  physiology  has  remarked  that  "  there  exists  a 
peculiar  analogy  between  vegetable  productions  and  living  ani- 
mals. Animal  and  vegetable  fibrine — albumen  of  eggs  and  the 
gluten  of  wheat — contain  about  15  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  so  that 
they  are  somewhat  identical.  If  you  take  100  lbs.  of  flou;  and 
wash  it  i  ■  water,  frequently  changing  the  same,  you  get  15  lbs. 
of  gluten.  This  is  the  flesh-making  principle,  and  represents  15 
lbs.  of  the  albumen  of  flesh.  The  gluten  of  flour,  caseine  of  cheese 
and  peas,  albumen  of  eggs,  and  the  flesh  of  an  animal  contain 
also  a  relative  amount  of  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen ;  so  that 
the  flesh  of  animals  is  already  prepared  for  them  in  the  vegeta- 
ble world.     The  digestive  organs  of  animals  merelv  change  the 


DENTITION  AND  DIET.  137 

mechanical  form  and  condition  of  the  former;  their  chemical  com- 
position remain  about  the  same." 

The  effects  of  various  kinds  of  Food. 

It  ie  customary,  in  some  stables,  to  feed  horses,  nearly  all  the 
year  round,  with  what  is  known  as  "  cut  feed,"  which  is  composed 
of  cut  hay,  meal,  shorts,  salt,  and  considerable  water ;  the  whole 
is  mixed  together,  and  served  out,  sometimes,  without  regard  to 
quantity.  This  kind  of  food  might,  and  sometimes  does,  agree 
with  horses,  but  it  is  not  right  to  feed  them,  year  after  year,  on 
the  same,  for  the  reason  just  set  forth.  Another  reason  for  ob- 
jecting to  this  food  is,  that,  in  the  stables  alluded  to,  we  hear 
of  a  great  many  cases  of  tympanitis  and  flatulent  colic  (diseases 
somewhat  identical),  arising,  no  doubt,  from  the  presence  of  so 
large  a  quantity  of  water  as  some  persons  are  in  the  habit  of 
using.  It  saturates  the  food,  and  retards  digestion.  Not  only 
this,  but  when  dry  food,  highly  charged  with  water,  enters  the 
stomach,  the  temperature  of  the  latter  causes  the  food  to  swell — 
increase  in  bulk — and  distends  that  organ,  and  also  favors  fer- 
mentation instead  of  digestion ;  hence  arises  flatulency.  We  do 
not,  however,  mean  to  contend  that  such  food  is  at  all  times  the 
direct  cause  of  indigestion,  colic,  etc.,  because  many  stablers  are 
ready  to  testify  that  they  have  fed  the  same  for  many  years  with- 
out any  apparent  inconvenience  to  their  horses;  but  we  contend 
that  it  acts  indirectly  in  the  manner  alluded  to;  and,  although 
some  horses  may  "get  used  to  it,"  and  others,  having  wonderful 
digestive  organs,  assimilate  it,  yet  the  day  of  reckoning  may  not 
be  far  off.  We  contend  that  water  taken  with  food  always  retards 
digestion.  The  proper  solvents  of  the  food  are  the  gastric  fluids, 
and  the  horse  has  abundant  facilities  for  supplying  the  requisite 
quantity.  An  ordinary  horse  is  said  to  secrete,  while  feeding, 
fluid,  of  salivial  and  gastric  characters,  at  the  rate  of  one  gallon 
per  hour — enough,  we  should  judge,  to  saturate  a  common  meal; 
therefore  the  water  is  not  needed.  We  urge  no  objection  against 
*he  more  rational  custom  of  merely  sprinkling  the  food  with  salted 
water,  in  view  of  absorbing  dust,  which  often  abounds  in  inferior 
hay,  but  do  seriously  object  to  the  practice  of  using  a  large  quan- 
tity of  cold  water  in  the  preparation  of  food  for  horses. 

From  experiments  made  by  scientific  men.  it  has  been  ascer- 


138  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

tained  that  parsnips,  carrots,  turnips,  and  cabbage,  which  ccntain 
from  80  to  90  per  cent,  of  water,  require  over  twice  as  much  time  to 
digest  as  when  the  food  is  free  from  water.  Cabbage,  for  example, 
requires  twenty  hours,  and  broiled  beef-steak  only  eight,  to  digest. 
Turn  a  cow  into  a  luxuriant  pasture  of  grass  or  clover,  and,  after 
partaking  of  one  or  the  other,  she  is  liable  to  become  "  blown"  or 
"hoven" — tympanitic;  the  abdomen  becomes  enormously  dis^ 
tended  with  gas,  (either  carbonic  acid  gas,  or  sulphurated  hydro 
gen,)  and,  unless  the  same  be  condensed  or  evacuated,  rupture  and 
death  are  sure  to  follow.  This  imperfect  digestion  and  consequent 
generation  of  gas  is  due  to  the  presence  of  vegetable  fluids  found  in 
green  fodder.  Therefore,  animals  having  weak  digestive  organs, 
predisposed  to  flatulency,  should  have  the  privilege  of  watering 
their  own  food  with  salivial  fluid.  The  best  diet  for  such  an  ani  • 
mal  would  be  "  dry  feed,"  composed  of  ground  oats,  cracked  corn , 
"fine  feed,"  and  a  small  quantity  of  sweet  hay.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  constipated  state  of  the  bowels  always  indicates  coarss 
food ;  and  in  this  view  the  English  use  chopped  straw  and  coarss 
bran,  with  decided  advantage.  Animals  should  never  be  watered 
immediately  before  nor  after  meals;  after  the  lapse  of  an  hour 
from  feeding  time  is  the  best. 

AS    REGARDS   THE    QUANTITY    OF    FOOD    REQUIRED. 

The  adult  horse  does  not  require  so  much  of  the  flesh-making 
principle  as  the  young  and  growing  animal,  but  he  seems  to  require 
(  greater  variety.  The  adult  merely  requires  enough  to  replace 
l.he  waste — the  wear  and  tear  of  his  system.  If  he  obtains  more 
than  this,  the  surplus  is  either  excreted  from  the  body,  or  else 
stored  up  within  the  same  in  the  form  of  fat;  and  every  body 
knows  that  a  fat  horse  or  fat  man  are  not  best  adapted  for  a  race 
nor  hard  labor,  but  of  all  others,  (except  those  in  a  state  of  de- 
bility,) they  are  most  subject  to  acute  disease.  With  the  young 
and  growing  animal  the  case  is  different.  Here  we  require  bone, 
muscle,  and  nerve.  Oats,  corn,  and  pollard  furnish  the  same. 
The  colt  obtains  from  its  mother's  milk  all  the  elements  of  its  own 
organization  in  a  concentrated  form — all  that  seems  necessary  for 
developing  bodily  proportions  and  hereditary  traits;  therefore, 
when  weaned,  the  colt  must  be  furnished  with  the  same  equivalents 
in  the  form  of  fodder:  ground  oats,  wheat  bran,  and  meal  furnish 


DENTITION  AND  DIET.  139 

the  same.  It  is  the  young  and  growing  animal  that  requires  our 
greatest  attention.  If  our  readers  desire  to  raise  colts  that  shall 
remunerate  them  for  the  trouble  and  expense  incurred,  they  must 
feed  the  same,  during  their  minority,  with  a  liberal  hand.  Any 
neglect  at  this  period  can  never  be  made  up  in  after  life.  The 
subject  will  always  remain  lank  and  lean — living  monuments  of 
their  master's  folly  or  ignorance,  as  the  case  may  be.  In  addition 
to  the  food  required  for  the  colt's  growth,  we  must  also  furnish 
enough  to  supply  the  waste  incurred  by  expenditure  of  muscular 
power.  We  all  know  that  the  young  are  very  active  and  playful. 
Every  muscular  movement  involves  an  expenditure  of  vital  force, 
and  thus  exhausts  the  system;  therefore,  in  view  of  developing 
their  full  proportions,  and  promoting  the  integrity  of  the  living 
mechanism,  they  must  have  nutritious  food,  and  plenty  of  it.  They 
are  not,  however,  to  have  a  large  quantity  at  a  time,  but  little  and 
often.  Their  stomach  is  small,  not  larger  than  that  of  a  man's. 
Should  it  be  overdistended  with  innutritious  food,  the  organs  of 
respiration  and  circulation  become  embarrassed,  and  the  blood 
loaded  with  carbon.  They  require  food  often,  because  the  diges- 
tive organs  are  very  active,  and  soon  dispose  of  an  ordinary  meal. 
Then  comes  the  sensation  of  hunger,  which  every  one  knows  is 
hard  to  bear. 

The  climate  or  temperature  of  the  surrounding  atmosphere  has  a 
wonderful  effect  on  the  animal  machine.  Let  two  horses  be  located 
in  different  stables,  one  of  which  shall  be,  like  "Jack  Straw's' 
house  neither  wind-tight  nor  water-proof;  the  other  built  on 
tne  air-tight  principle.  The  occupant  of  the  former  will  require 
more  food  than  he  of  the  latter,  because  cold  air  has  a  depressing 
influence  on  the  body,  exhausting  superficial  heat.  Our  readers 
are  probably  aware  that  if  a  hot  brick  be  placed  in  contact  with 
a  cold  one,  the  caloric  radiated  from  the  first  is  absorbed  by  the 
latter,  until  a  sort  of  equilibrium  be  established.  The  same  is 
true  as  regards  the  body  of  a  horse.  He  being  in  an  atmosphere 
many  degrees  less  than  that  of  his  own  body,  gives  off  the  heat 
of  the  same  to  the  surrounding  medium.  The  heat  thus  given 
off  has  to  be  replaced  by  food,  which  is  the  combustible  material. 
But  it  often  happens  that  the  digestive  organs  are  deranged,  in- 
capable of  assimilating  a  sufficiency  of  carbonaceous  material  to 
maintain  even  the  normal  temperature  of  the  body.  The  conse- 
yirV>.<    Jre,  loss  of  flesh  and  health.     On  the  other  hand,  a  tat 


140  DADDS  VEIEfilNARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

horse  can  endure  the  depressing  influences  of  a  cold  atmosphere, 
because  he  has  within  the  body  a  vast  generator  and  non-conductor 
of  heat  in  the  form  of  adipose  matter.  It  has  been  proved  that 
the  immediate  cause  of  death  in  warm-blooded  animals,  when  food 
has  been  withheld,  was  their  inability  to  keep  up  that  temperature 
necessary  for  the  integrity  of  vital  operations.  The  animal  located 
in  an  air-tight  stable  is,  probably,  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere 
almost  equal  in  temperature  to  that  of  his  own  body,  and,  conse- 
quently, he  does  not  require  so  much  food  as  the  former.  Hence, 
the  amount  of  food  necessary  in  the  one  case  might  be  too  much  for 
another,  and,  consequently,  operate  injuriously.  A  cold,  bracing 
wind  is  said  to  "  sharpen  the  appetite."  The  inhabitants  of  north- 
ern regions  require  more  food  than  those  of  the  southern.  A  horse) 
therefore,  of  weak  muscular  organization,  the  subject  of  debility, 
requires  a  comfortable  stable,  and  food  that  will  develop  muscles. 
Now,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  horse-beans  contain  more  of  the 
nitro-albuminous  principles  than  any  other  article  of  diet.  Eng- 
lish horses  are  very  partial  to  the  same,  and  in  such  the  develop- 
ment of  muscle  is  very  remarkable;  consequently,  a  fat  horse 
requires  less  of  the  nitro-albuminous  principle,  and  more  of  the 
aqueous,  in  the  form  of  carrots,  potatoes,  and  beets. 

It  must  never  be  forgotten  that  some  horses  will  keep  in  fair 
working  order  on  a  moderate  supply  of  aliment.  In  such  cases, 
we  infer  that  the  digestive  organs  are  in  a  state  of  activity  capable 
of  extracting  all  the  nutrient  properties  from  the  same.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  horse  performs  less  work  than  the  former,  consumes 
twice  as  much  food,  yet  actually  loses  flesh.  The  digestive  organs 
are  then  at  fault.  A  horse,  however,  may  lose  flesh,  become  weak 
in  the  legs,  etc.,  in  consequence  of  the  laborious  nature  of  his  em- 
ployment. Therefore,  any  derangement  occasioned  in  this  way 
prevents  the  food  from  being  converted  into  healthy  chyme,  chyle, 
or  blood,  and  thus  the  necessary  deposit  of  new  matter  is  pre- 
vented. 

Most  voraciour-  feeders  are  dyspeptic,  and  such  are  almost  never 
free  from  intestinal  worms.  Their  breath  becomes  feted;  saliva, 
thick  and  tenacious ;  excrement,  slimy ;  and  should  the  subject  be 
fed  on  oats,  the  same  would  be  found,  after  traversing  the  aliment- 
ary canal,  unmasticated.  The  principal  remedy  for  indigestion  is 
change  in  diet.  Sometimes  it  may  be  proper  to  allow  scalded  oats, 
although  cooking  does  not  add  to  their  nutritive  quality,  yet,  mora 


DENTITION  AND  DIET.  141 

or  less,  completes  the  destruction  of  organization,  and  better  pre- 
pares them  for  the  action  of  weak  solvents. 

Changes  in  diet  will  sometimes  work  wonders  in  the  restoration 
of  a  dyspeptic ;  yet  he  will  require,  also,  suitable  medicinal  agents, 
in  view  of  augmenting  the  digestive  function,  for  which  purpose 
the  following  is  recommended : 

No.  17.  Fluid  extract  of  chamomile 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  ginger 3  oz. 

Powdered  hyposulphite  of  soda 2  oz. 

Water 5  oz. 

Mix. 

Dose,  a  wine-glassful  night  and  morning. 


Changes  in  Diet. 

Sudden  changes  in  diet  are  not  recommended.  For  example, 
should  an  animal  have  been  previously  fed  on  corn,  meal,  or  oats, 
le  should  not  be  turned  out  to  shift  for  himself,  as  the  saying  is, 
and  depend  entirely  on  grass  for  a  living.  Grass  acts  on  horses 
unaccustomed  to  it  as  an  aperient — scours  them — which  is  a  de- 
bilitating process.  Grass  may  improve  the  health  of  a  fat,  lazy,  or 
hnm^ry  horse — reduce  flesh  and  purify  his  blood;  but  the  emaci- 
ated horse  requires,  in  addition,  a  daily  feed  of  oats  or  cracked 
corn,  to  make  up  for  the  deficiency  of  carbon  in  the  former.  For 
these,  and  other  reasons  that  we  might  urge,  the  reader  will  per- 
ceive that  changes  in  diet  can  only  be  made  valuable  in  proportion 
to  our  knowledge  of  the  wants  of  the  animal  economy. 

A  great  proportion  of  our  horses  are  too  well  fed,  obtaining  more 
food  than  they  require.  In  this  land  of  plenty,  most  of  our  valu- 
able horses  are  overfed;  and  more  especially  does  this  happen 
among  animals  owned  by  wealthy  and  liberal  individuals.  The 
impression  we  wish  to  convey  to  the  mind  of  the  reader  is,  that 
Hie  food  of  such  is  not  proportioned  to  labor;  in  other  words, 
there  exists  a  disproportion  between  the  amount  of  carbon  taken; 
in  the  form  of  food,  and  the  oxygen  received,  in  the  process  of 
respiration.  Now,  to  illustrate  this,  we  will  suppose  that  a  man 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  owns  one  or  more  horses.  lie  has 
not  the  time  nor  inclination  to  give  the  one  or  the  other  the  neces- 
sary amount  of  exercise.  They  stand  up  to  a  full  crib,  from  day 
to  day,  enjoying    or,  rather,  gorging  themselves  with,  a  certain 


142  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGEK*. 

amount  of  fodder  over  and  above  what  they  actually  require, 
and  much  more  than  they  really  need.  The  surplus  is  often  stored 
up  in  the  form  of  fat,  and  this  induces  acute  diseases,  and  they  die 
of  too  much  food  and  care.  It  is  verv  rare  that  we  have  occasion 
to  recommend  a  man  to  feed  his  horse  more  liberally,  but  almost 
always  the  reverse.  Starvation  is  said  to  be  the  cause  for  many 
equine  diseases ;  but,  so  far  as  our  experience  goes,  such  cases  are, 
n  this  country,  very  rare.  We  conceive  the  term  starvation  1o  De 
a  libel  upon  civilization ;  and  so  unfrequent  is  its  application  among 
a  nation  of  husbandmen,  that  it  is  omitted  in  our  dictionaries.  A 
man  on  a  barren  rock,  or  a  horse  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia,  might 
probably  starve ;  but  the  idea  of  the  latter  starving  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  well-stocked  barn  or  stable,  within  striking  distance  of  a  land 
of  plenty,  seems  to  us  a  very  absurd  conclusion.  There  are  enough 
horses  to  be  found  dressed  up  in  the  garb  of  starvation,  having 
tight  skins,  prominent  ribs,  and  a  cadaverous  countenance,  living, 
yet  half  dead.  But  they  know  nothing  of  the  "  famine  in  Egypt ;" 
they  get  not  only  enough,  but  too  much  of  the  same  kind.  They 
probably  require  a  change  in  diet,  or  else  they  are  confirmed  dys- 
peptics, laboring  under  a  chronic  form  of  indigestion  ;  and  if  such 
should  be  the  case,  quantity  is  objectionable,  and  good  quality  more 
desirable.  The  stomach,  however,  is  not  at  fault,  its  function  being 
deranged.  Or  they  probably  get  enough,  and  perhaps  too  much, 
for  a  weak  stomach ;  hence  loss  of  flesh,  etc. 

Some  men  are  in  the  habit  of  bleeding  their  horses  every  spring. 
This  is  done  in  view  of  reducing  fat  and  flesh,  the  subjects  being 
humory  (plethoric),  their  systems  abounding  in  highly  carbonized 
blood,  which  is  proof  positive  that  the  same  have  been  overfed. 
The  racer,  before  he  can  perform  a  feat  of  speed,  must  be  prepared, 
as  the  saying  is.  This  implies  bleeding  and  physicking.  Some 
works  on  farriery  lay  down  regular  rules  for  putting  a  horse  in 
racing  condition,  and  the  remedies  are  fleam,  physic,  and  bran, 
proof  positive  that  such  animals  have  had  too  bounteous  a  supply 
of  nutriment. 

Some  horses — and  the  same  is  true  of  man — grow  poor  in  con- 
sequence of  having  to  carry  about  a  juvenile  restaurant  within  their 
digestive  organs.  They  probably  become  exhausted,  or  plethoric, 
as  the  case  may  be,  in  consequence  of  an  overburdened  stomach. 
A  stomach  overburdened  reacts  on  the  nervous  system,  deranges 
the  physiological  condition  of  the  subject,  and  lays  the  foundation 


DENTITION   AND  DIET  L*3 

for  hypeitrophy  (which  is  an  abnormal  increase  of  fat  or  tissue), 
or  the  opposite,  which  condition  is  known  as  atrophy — a  wasting" 
of  the  same.  But  most  frequently  an  overburdened  stomach  in- 
duces diseases  known  as  staggers,  cerebral  congestion,  softening 
of  brain,  etc. 

Many  horse  owners  are  continually  devising  means  to  excite  the 
appetite  of  their  horses,  in  order  to  get  as  much  food  as  possible 
into  their  stomachs.  Some  men  seem  to  think  that  an  error  in 
this  direction  can  never  occur;  and  should  the  animal  refuse  to 
consume  tiie  abundance  thus  placed  before  him,  the  liberal  owner 
:.s  apt  to  consider  his  pet  sick,  or  think  that  he  must  have  a  poor 
aj> petite.  Now,  it  were  far  better,  for  both  man  and  horse  if  the 
former  would  only  experiment  in  the  opposite  direction,  and 
ascertain  how  small  a  quantity  a  horse  may  subsist  on.  A  small 
quantity  of  good  food,  well  digested,  answers  the  purpose  of  nu- 
trition much  better  than  a  large  quantity,  imperfectly  so.  It  is 
vory,  interesting  to  contemplate  how  efficient  a  little  food  proves 
for  the  promotion  of  health  and  longevity.  For  example,  a  little 
barley  and  coarse  fodder  will  suffice  for  the  "  courser  of  the  desert." 
Shetland  and  Welsh  ponies  will  live  and  grow  fat  on  the  mere 
vestiges  of  vegetation.  The  best  cow  in  the  world — the  property 
of  J.  H.  Kelly,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  weighing  1,350  pounds — is 
fed  exclusively  on  hay  and  straw.  Very  poor  fodder  some  may 
exclaim ;  yet  in  the  course  of  ten  months  the  same  creature  yielded 
4,921  quarts  of  milk,  and  during  a  single  month,  after  calving, 
she  gave  620  quarts,  and  the  least  she  gave  during  the  winter 
months  was  562  quarts.  A  pig  will  grow  fat  on  small  quantities 
<  f  the  right  kind  of  food,  and  yet  lose  flesh  when  suffered  to  gorge 
himself  with  the  same.  Many  swine,  in  the  vicinity  of  coal  mines, 
consume  both  coal  and  charcoal,  and  little  else,  yet  they  thrive 
well. 

Evidences  can  be  furnished  going  to  show  that  both  the  superior 
and  inferior  orders  of  creation  might  subsist  on  much  less  foo^ 
than  they  are  in  the  habit  of  using,  and  without  danger  to  them- 
6elves.  Shipwrecked  mariners  have  been  known  to  exist  sf  vera] 
weeks  without  food;  and  there  is  a  man  now  residing  in  Illinois, 
who,  during  a  period  of  thirty-two  days,  never  tasted  food.  The 
sleeping  man  of  Rochester  is  another  example;  and  a  case  is 
recorded  in  one  of  our  medical  journals  showing  that  an  individual 
once  lived  for  several  months  on  nothing  but  pure  water.     As 


i-U  DADD'S  VETERINAHr    jusiJioijn^  AND  SURGERY. 

regards  horses,  they  form  no  exception  to  this  peculiarity.  We 
might  introduce  evidence,  convincing  and  positive,  of  their  ability 
to  endure  the  privations  of  hunger,  and,  at  the  same  time,  ^now 
that  they  suffer  but  little  from  its  effects.  A  single  case  will  serve 
to  illustrate  this.  We  once  treated  a  case  of  tetanus  (lock-jaw). 
The  subject  never  tasted  food  during  a  period  of  sixteen  days ;  on 
the  seventeenth  the  masseters  relaxed,  and  the  faculty  of  swallow- 
ing returned.  At  this  period  we  might  suppose  him  to  be  "  hungry 
as  a  bear,"  yet,  on  offering  him  a  few  oats,  he  did  not  appear  to  be 
very  ravenous,  and  partook  of  food  subsequently  offered  him  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  These  are  extreme  cases,  yet  they  go  to 
show  that  there  is  no  cause  for  alarm  because  a  horse  happens  to 
be  "  off  his  feed  "  once  in  awhile.  Such  condition  may  ultimately 
prove  salutary,  affording  the  stomach  and  its  associates  time  to  rest 
from  their  herculean  labors. 

The  fact  that  most  of  our  adult  horses  get  more  food  than  they 
need  has  been  demonstrated  by  analysis  of  their  excrement,  which 
has  been  found  to  contain  a  large  amount  of  nutritious  material 
over  and  above  what  the  auimals  actually  need.  We  can  develop 
the  gormandizing  powers  of  very  many  horses,  by  placing  before 
them,  from  day  to  day,  more  than  they  require.  Their  appetites, 
like  some  of  ours,  are  not  proof  against  temptation  ;  and  the  diges- 
tive organs  may  be  trained  to  dispose  of  twice  the  quantity  of  food 
actually  needed,  and  the  habit,  at  first  acquired,  becomes  perma- 
nent, and  the  creature  is  known  as.  a  voracious  feeder — a  glutton. 
Hence,  through  indiscretions  of  this  character,  we  can  augment 
both  function  and  capacity  of  stomach.  We  remember  examining 
the  stomach  of  a  horse,  the  property  of  a  baker,  who  was  in  the 
habit  of  feeding  the  former  on  brown  bread.  The  animal  died  of 
chronic  indigestion,  and  his  stomach  exceeded  in  capacity  that  of 
two  ordinary  torses.  Great  care,  therefore,  is  requisite  in  regard 
co  the  proper  feeding  of  horses  j  for,  in  their  domesticated  state, 
they  have  lost  those  natural  instincts  which  serve  to  inform  the 
untamed  animal  of  the  necessary  amount  of  food  which  his  system 
needs,  and  they  are  in  the  condition  of  a  thoughtless  child  that 
will  eat  all  day,  and,  on  retiring  to  bed,  will  crave  and  cry  for 
more. 

Our  readers  have  probably  heard  of  the  gormandizing  propensi- 
ties of  natives  in  the  arctic  regions.  Some  of  them  think  nothing 
cf  belting  down  twenty  pounds  of  meat  and  oil  per  day,  ajid 


DENTITION  ANi;  DIET.  i-it 

making  a  good  supper  ok  tallow  candles.  A  case  is  related,  bj 
Captain  Cochrane,  of  a  Russian  who  ate,  in  the  course  of  twenty- 
four  hours,  the  hind-quarter  of  an  ox,  twenty  pounds  of  fat,  ind 
drank  a  quantity  of  melted  butter.  He  also  states  that  he  has 
seen  three  gluttons  consume  a  deer  at  one  meal.  But  we  need  not 
go  beyond  our  own  immediate  vicinity  to  prove  that  the  gorman- 
dizing powers  of  both  men  and  horses  are  equally  extraordinary. 
The  corn-dealer's  bill  furnishes  one  illustration ;  and  the  length- 
ened meal  which  some  of  our  young  men  indulge  in,  commencing 
in  the  morning  and  only  ending  at  night,  completes  the  evidence. 
Hence,  with  these  facts  before  us,  we  may  safely  conclude  that 
errors  in  diet  are  constantly  occurring,  and,  consequently,  a  great 
many  unnecessary  diseases  arise  in  consequence;  therefore,  we 
recommend  our  readers  to  make  an  experiment  in  the  opposite 
direction,  and  ascertain  how  small  a  quantity  of  good  food  will 
answer  the  purpose  of  nutrition.  Should  the  quantity  be  insuf- 
ficient for  the  animal's  wants,  we  shall  soon  be  made  aware  of  the 
fact  by  loss  of  flesh  and  other  unmistakable  signs.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  error  alluded  to  is  not  so  easily  corrected ;  for  the  animal 
may  die,  overburdened  with  fat,  of  an  acute  disease,  before  we  can 
reduce  his  system. 

Conclusion. 

The  reader  will  perceive  that  in  the  management  and  feeding 
of  horses  there  opens  a  fine  field  of  observation  and  improvement ; 
yet,  in  order  to  apply  that  unlimited  power  which  man  seems  to 
possess  over  his  own  organization  and  that  of  the  inferior  orders 
of  creation,  he  must  be  conversant  with  animal  physiology ;  for 
on  tins  science  alone  do  we  base  the  problem  of  life. 

Now,  reader,  after  having  presented  this  essay  for  your  consider- 
ation, pray  do  not  find  fault  with  the  stable-keeper  because  your 
horse  does  not  look  fat  and  sleek.  You  had  better  trust  to  the 
discretion  of  the  man  who,  having  been  long  in  the  stable  busine? }, 
is  perhaps  better  qualified  than  yourself  to  judge  of  the  effects  of 
food  under  the  states  of  rest  and  exercise,  and  knows  how  to  grad- 
uate the  same  accordingly.  We  frequently  have  occasion  to  notice 
that  horses  owned  by  stable-keepers  are  never  so  fat  as  the  board- 
ers— a  very  good  proof  that  the  latter  get  more  than  they  require. 
Some  men  are  in  the  habit  of  ordering  a  given  quantity,  say  six 
or  twelve  quarts,  of  oats  at  a  feed,  whenever  they  put  up,  and  'he 
10 


IV) 


DADD'S  VEILRLNAR*    MEDICINE  AMD  SURGERY. 


feeder  gives  it.  At  the  same  time  he  is  well  aware  that  the  animal 
does  not  need  it,  yet  he  must  obey  orders;  for  should  he  suggest 
that  the  quantity  be  too  great,  his  motive  may  be  questioned,  and 
wrong  inferences  drawn.  Depend  upon  it,  therefore,  that  when 
the  stabler,  by  a  judicious  system  of  feeding,  prevents  fat  from  ac- 
cumulating on  horses,  he  is  conferring  a  favor  on  his  patrons  ami 
benefiting  the  animal. 

As  regards  the  number  of  meals  per  day,  our  own  observation* 
satisfy  us  that  working  horses  require  three  meals  per  day — a 
bountiful,  yet  very  early  breakfast;  at  noon,  a  light  meal,  com- 
posed of  cut  hay  and  oats ;  and  at  night  the  quantity  may  be  in- 
creased equal  to  the  morning  meal.  It  is  very  poor  policy  to  feed 
or  water  on  the  road  when  performing  a  short  journey ;  yet,  should 
a  horse  seem  to  stand  in  need  of  something,  we  should  not  object 
to  a  handful  of  oats  and  a  few  swallows  of  water  occasionally. 


SECTION   VI. 

GLANDERS    AND   FARCY. 

Glanders — Glanders    can    be    communicated    to    Man — Contagiousness   or 
Glanders — Suspected    Glanders — How   came  the   Disease  to   be   called 
Glanders? — Diagnostic  Symptom  of  Glanders — Treatment  op  Glanders- 
Farcy  (Disease  of  the  Absorbents). 

Glanders. 

ONE  of  the  greatest  evils  which  farmers  and  horse-dealers  have 
been  subjected  to,  during  the  prevalence  of  our  late  national 
troubles,  was  the  sale  of  condemned  army  horses,  many  of  them 
being  afflicted,  either  insidiously  or  actually,  with  that  form  of 
equine  affection  known  as  glanders;  for  it  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  this  terrible  malady  is,  under  certain  circumstances  or  con- 
ditions of  the  animal  economy,  both  infectious  and  contagious; 
hence  the  great  evil. 

For  example,  should  a  glandered  horse  be  placed  in  a  stable 
where  the  principles  of  ventilation  and  of  the  admission  of  light 
are  entirely  disregarded,  the  other  inmates  of  the  den,  by  continu- 
ally breathing,  over  and  over  again,  the  contaminated  atmosphere 
which  must  necessarily  occupy  the  same,  will  (provided  their  sys- 
tems are  susceptible)  take  the  disease  by  infection ;  that  is  to  say, 
the  miasmatic  virus  finds  an  introduction  into  the  blood  through 
the  lungs  and  pulmonary  circulation.  On  the  other  hand,  glanders, 
under  almost  every  circumstance,  can  be  communicated  by  con- 
tagion or  touch ;  that  is,  bringing  the  glandered  nasal  discharge  in 
contact  with  an  abraded  surface,  including  cuts  and  scratches. 


Glanders  can  be  communicated  to  Man. 

Within  the  last  quarter  of  this  century,  two  veterinary  sur- 
geons— one  residing  in  Walworth,  and  the  other  in  Wolverhamp- 

(147) 


148 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


ton — are  reported  as  having  died  from  inoculation  of  glanders. 
This  terrible  disease  is  not  often  seen  in  Scotland,  but  very  fre- 
quently in  England,  and  still  more  so  in  Ireland,  From  the  latter 
circumstance,  the  malady  is  often  found  to  be  imported  about  the 
west  coast  of  Scotland.  London  has  always  been  rather  renowned 
for  the  prevalence  of  glanders  among  omnibus,  cab>  and  other 


motion  or  a  hoese's  head  showing  ulceration  of  the  SCHNEIDEEIAN  MEMBRANE,  WKIOB 

CONSTITUTES  THE   DIAGNOSTIC   SYMPTOM  OF  GLANDERS. 

Explanation. — On  contrasting  the  above  picture  with  the  one  on  the  opposite  page,  the- 
reader  will  perceive,  in  the  above,  a  number  of  dark  spots  on  the  lining  membrane  of  the 
nose  (schneiderian),  showing  the  chancreous  ulcerations  which  constitute  the  diagnostic 
symptoms  of  glanders. 

1.  The  cerebrum,  or  anterior  portion  of  the  brain. 

2.  The  cerebellum,  or  posterior  portion  of  the  brain. 
8.  The  spinal  cord. 

4.  Shows  a  section  of  the  cervical  vertebrae,  or  bones  of  the  neck. 

5.  The  oesophagus. 
8.  The  windpipe. 
7.  The  tongue. 

».  Section  of  the  occipital  bone. 

10.  The  schneiderian  membrane. 

11.  A  muscle  known  as  the  sterno  maxillarius.  It  is  located  beneath  the  neck,  and  '»  in- 
serted into  the  angle  of  the  lower  jaw  and  the  front  part  of  the  breast  bone.  Its  actior.  is  to 
•id  in  closing  the  mouth  and  drawing  the  head  downward  toward  the  breast;  one  muscle  »c«- 
tng  draws  the  head  to  one  side. 

12.  The  frontal  sinuses. 

13.  Section  of  the  anterior  portion  of  the  upper  jaw. 

14.  The  hard  palate. 

16.  The  strong  ligament  of  the  spine  known  as  the  ligamentum  eufflavium. 
16.  Section  of  the  inferior  portion  of  the  cervical  vertebrae 

lorses.  A  very  strict  supervision  is  maintained,  and  all  glandered 
Worses  are  destroyed  when  discovered;  but  nevertheless  we  can 
state,  on  good  authority,  that  the  omnibus  horses  of  London  have 
suffered  very  severely  from  this  disease,  and  io  so  still.     The  pap- 


GLANDERS   AND  FARCY. 


149 


tial  measures  adopted  by  companies  are  not  sufficient  to  eradicate 
it,  and  the  "  glandcred  night  train  "  is  not  altogether  a  thing  of  the 
past.  The  danger  tp  human  life  is  so  great  that  we  feel  happy  to 
seize  any  opportunity  to  urge  the  adoption  of  the  most  effectual 
measures  for  the  suppression  of  any  practice  vhich  tends  to  pro- 
long the  life  of  the  glandered  horse. 


SECTION   OF  A   HORSE'S   HEAD   TN   A   HEALTHY  CONDITION— ITS   ANATOMY. 

Description.— a  The  lining  membrane  of  the  nose,  known  as  the  schneiderian  membrane. 
;On  its  surface  are  seen  the  vessels  which  furnish  it  with  arterial  blood. 

6  The  anterior  portion  of  the  brain,  known  as  the  cerebrum. 

c  The  posterior  portion  of  the  brain,  known  as  the  cerebellum. 

d  The  frontal  sinuses. 

e  The  tongue. 

/  Showing  the  velum  palate,  or  soft  palate. 

g  The  back  part  of  the  mouth. 

h  The  pharynx,  or  top  of  the  oasophagus. 

i  The  epiglottis,  or  cartilage  at  the  root  of  the  tongue. 

j  The  glottis,  or  opening  into  the  windpipe. 

k  The  oesophagus,  or  gullet. 

I  The  trachea,  or  windpipe. 
m  The  spinal  cord. 

v  Junction  of  the  cerebellum  with  the  spinal  cord. 
op  Showing  a  section  of  the  cervical  vertebrae,  or  bones  of  the  neck. 
The  dotted  lines  between  a  and  g,  show  the  direction  leading  to  the  trachea  and  oesophagus, 

A  fatal  case  of  glander,  reported  in  the  Baltimore  "  Herald  of 
Keform,"  is  as  follows  :  Mr.  I.  P.  Bums,  a  grocer,  died  a  horrible 
death  in  that  city  in  consequence  of  poison  communicated  to  his 
system  from  a  horse  afflicted  with  glanders.  During  the  admin- 
istration of  medicine,  Mr.  Burus  thrust  into  the  animal's  mouth 
his  hand,  a  finger  of  which  had  been  previously  cut,  and  the  flesh 
laid  open.  Through  this  wound  the  virus  was  absorbed,  and  mor- 
tification supervened.     A  surgeon  was  called  upon  to  amputate 


150  UADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

the  diseased  member.  Perceiving,  however,  that  the  poison  had 
penetrated  to  every  portion  of  the  unfortunate  man's  system,  he 
declined  performing  the  operation,  and  stated. that  no  earthly  skill 
could  save  him.  After  lingering  in  great  agony,  death  closed  the 
scene.  * 

Death  of  a  Russian  Lady  from  Glanders. — The  awful  death 
of  Madame  Palesikoff,  one  of  the  most  charming  among  all  that 
bevy  of  entertaining  Russian  ladies  who  sometimes  gladden  the 
winters  of  Paris,  has  created  a  terrible  shock  among  the  circles 
she  so  lately  embellished  by  her  presence.  The  unhappy  lady  left 
Paris  but  a  short  time  ago  on  a  summer  tour  to  Germany.  While 
stepping  from  the  door  of  the  opera-house  in  Berlin,  to  gain  her 
carriage,  she  let  fall  one  of  her  bracelets  close  to  the  pavement. 
Stooping  to  pick  it  up,  she  noticed,  at  the  time,  laughingly,  that 
"  one  of  the  horses  belonging  to  a  carriage  standing  at  hand, 
dropped  his  head  so  close  to  her  face  that  he  touched  her,  and  left 
a  moist  kiss  upon  her  cheek."  In  a  few  days  the  unfortunate  lady 
was  taken  ill  with  that  most  horrible  disease,  glanders,  and  in  a  few 
Jays  more,  breathed  her  last,  in  spite  of  the  attendance  of  the  first 
physicians  of  Berlin  and  every  resource  to  be  obtained  by  wealth, 
or  by  the  ceaseless  vigilance  of  friends.* 

Still  another  case. — Sidney  W.  M.,  aged  23,  a  horse-slaughterer, 
residing  at  Plumstead,  England,  was  admitted  into  Guy's  Hos- 
pital, on  March  13, 1861,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Birkett.  He  had 
always  enjoyed  good  health,  but  he  lived  freely.  Six  days  pre- 
vious to  his  admission  he  cut  his  right  hand  deeply  over  the  dorsal 
aspect  of  the  thumb.  The  wound  bled  freely,  but  he  felt  no  in- 
convenience from  it,  of  any  consequence,  until  the  10th.  He  then 
had  pain  in  the  part,  extending  upward  to  the  axilla,  and  also  a 
numbing  pain  in  the  calf  of  the  right  leg.  His  appetite  was  good, 
and  he  had  so  little  constitutional  disturbance  that  he  went  as 
usual  to  superintend  the  work  which  the  accident  had  prevented 
his  carrying  out.  On  the  11th  the  pain  in  the  arm  increased,  and 
that  in  the  leg,  on  the  12th,  extended  upward  to  the  thigh.  This 
had  become  considerably  aggravated,  and  he  then  became  gener- 
ally indisposed,  and  was  unable  to  stand.  The  following  day  he 
applied  for  admission.  He  stated  that  he  was  extremely  ill,  and 
that  his  limbs  felt  almost  paralyzed.     He  was  quite  unable  to 

*  Berlin  Court  Journal. 


GLANDERS  AND  FAKCY.  151 

Biand.  He  had  constant  rigors,  a  burning  skin,  white  tongue,  and 
his  pulse  was  120.  The  wound  in  the  hand  was  inflamed,  and 
the  calf  of  the  right  leg  and  the  thigh  were  swollen,  and  evidently 
the  seats  of  abscesses.  These  were  freely  opened,  with  relief.  He 
was  ordered  effervescing  medicine,  and  two  pints  cf  porter.  The 
case  was  then  regarded  as  one  of  pyaemia.  On  the  14th  he  was 
much  relieved.  He  had  slept  tolerably.  The  abscesses  discharged 
freely,  and  he  was  able  to  take  his  food.  On  the  15th  he  was  seized 
with  vomiting,  bringing  up  a  dark  bilious  fluid.  His  powers  were 
less.  Wine  was  given  freely.  On  the  ,16th  the  vomiting  continued, 
and  he  complained  of  a  pain  in  the  left  thigh.  An  abscess  was  dis- 
covered, on  examination,  which  was  freely  opened.  The  man,  at 
this  time,  was  physically  in  a  very  low  condition.  He  took  brandy, 
eggs,  and  other  liquid  nourishment  with  avidity.  His  manner  was 
peculiar,  and  somewhat  excited.  On  the  17th  another  abscess  was 
opened  in  the  left  arm.  On  the  18th  the  left  foot  became  the  seat 
of  an  abscess,  and  on  the  19th,  for  the  first  time,  a  pustular  erup- 
tion was  observed  on  the  face  and  body,  which  suggested  to  Mr. 
Birkett  the  probability  that  some  animal  poison  was  the  cause  of 
all  this  mischief. 

The  eruption  was  peculiar,  having  no  definite  shape.  It  ap- 
peared to  be  more  like  small  irregular  blebs,  containing  pus,  vary- 
ing from  the  size  of  a  pea  to  a  sixpence.  Some  were  round,  others 
oval,  and  others  of  an  irregular  form.  Toward  evening,  also,  his 
breathing  became  much  impaired,  a  bloody  mucus  obstructing  the 
nostrils.  Toward  night  he  became  delirious;  his  powers  became 
less,  the  nasal  discharge  more  profuse,  and  at  1.30,  on  the  20th,  he 
died.  The  eruption,  some  hours  before  his  death,  in  parts,  had 
disappeared ;  but  in  others  a  fresh  crop  sprang  up,  particularly 
over  the  region  of  the  sternum.  These  were,  however,  of  the 
same  character,  but  smaller.  No  post-mortem  examination  waa 
made.* 

Contagiousness  of  Glanders. 

Mr.  Percivall  submits  the  following  deductions,  regarding 
the  contagiousness  of  glanders,  as  the  result  of  facts  gleaned  from 
his  own  experience: 

"  1.  That  farcy  and  glanders,  which  constitute  the  same  disease, 


*  Medical  Times  and  Gazette 


152  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

are  propagated  through  the  medium  of  stabling,  and  this  we  believe 
to  be  the  more  usual  way  in  which  the  disease  is  communicated 
from  horse  to  horse. 

2.  That  infected  stabling  may  harbor  and  retain  the  infection 
for  months,  or  even  years ;  and  although,  by  thoroughly  cleansing 
and  making  use  of  disinfecting  means,  the  contagion  might  be 
destroyed,  yet  it  would  not  be  wise  to  occupy  such  stables  imme- 
diately after  such  supposed  or  alleged  disinfection. 

3.  That  the  virus,  or  poison  of  glanders,  may  lie  for  months,  in 
a  state  of  incubation,  in  the  horse's  constitution  before  the  disease 
breaks  out.     Of  this  we  have  had  the  most  positive  evidence. 

4.  That  when  a  stable  of  horses  becomes  contaminated,  the  dis- 
ease often  makes  fearful  ravages  among  them  before  it  quits ;  and 
it  is  only  after  a  period  of  several  months  exemption  from  all  dis  • 
ease  of  the  kind  that  a  clean  bill  of  health  can  be  rendered." 

From  the  preceding  evidence,  it  is  probable  that  the  reader  will 
entertain  but  little  doubt  of  the  contagious  character  of  the  malady  j 
yet  it  is  very  important  that  every  one,  either  directly  or  indirectly 
interested  in  horses,  or  having  any  regard  for  the  welfare  of  man  •• 
kind,  should  be  familiar  with  all  that  is  important  and  useful  a? 
regards  the  cause  and  nature  of  the  awful  malady  now  under  con  - 
sideration.  It  is  often  mistaken  for  other  diseases  that  (in  so  far 
as  contagion  is  concerned)  are  perfectly  harmless ;  yet  many  valu  - 
able  human  lives  have  paid  the  forfeit,  and  many  priceless  animals 
have  been  sacrificed  on  an  altar  of  ignorance  which  the  light  of 
science  has  but  recently  illuminated.  Hence,  correct  information 
is  what  the  people  require,  in  consequence  of  the  emergency  of  the 
peril ;  and  this  is  what  the  author  aims  at  in  offering  this  article 
for  the  consideration  of  the  reader. 

Many  hundreds  of  times,  during  the  professional  career  of  the 
author,  have  horses  been  brought  to  him  for  treatment,  declared 
by  their  owners  to  be  the  subjects  of  glanders,  simply  because  they 
had  enlarged  glands  under  the  jaw,  and  a  nasal  discharge;  an 
by  the  successful  treatment  of  the  same,  he  has  got  the  credit  of 
curing  glanders,  a  feat  which  he  never  pretends  to  have  accom- 
plished. Mr.  Gamgee  has  very  lucidly  illustrated  this  part  of 
♦he  argument,  as  regards  the  mistakes  made  in  diagnosing  glanders- 
He  states  that  glanders  may  be  suspected,  instead  of  being  a  real- 
ity; hence,  many  supposed  cures  are  on  record.  The  following 
are  his  remarks,  under  the  caption  of  "suspected  glanders^: 


GLANDERS  AND  FARCY.  163 

"Glanders  is,  fortunately,  a  rare  disease  in  this  country  (Scot- 
land), thanks  to  the  pole-ax.  Englishmen  have  long  since  advo- 
cated and  practiced  the  shooting  of  suspected  animals,  rather  than 
trusting  the  lives  of  men  and  horses  to  the  chances  of  escape, 
wherever  cases  of  chronic  nasal  discharge  are  met  with.  The  com- 
mand officer  and  veterinarian  of  a  British  cavalry  regiment  would 
<  onsider  it  a  great  disgrace  if  such  a  disease  acquired  any  firm  hold 
in  their  stables  ;  and  in  spite  of  occasional  introductions  of  the  dis- 
ease when  a  number  of  remounts  may  be  purchased,  the  unrelent- 
ing order  to  kill  rather  than  attempt  to  cure,  saves  the  public  purse 
and  the  reputation  of  those  responsible  for  the  health  and  condi- 
tion of  our  troop  horses.  I  am  as  great  an  advocate  for  the 
slaughter  of  glandered  horses  as  I  am  for  the  slaughter  of  cattle 
affected  with  rinderpest.  Glanders  is  more  incurable  than  the 
cattle  plague,  as  not  even  ten  per  cent,  recover,  but  its  commu- 
nication is  less  certain  and  swift.  It  never  could  and  never  did 
destroy  its  tens  of  thousands  over  a  country  in  the  short  space 
of  time  in  which  the  steppe  murrain  spreads  over  the  land,  but 
it  is,  nevertheless,  wise  and  proper  to  stamp  it  out.  We  have  not 
indulged,  as  do  our  neighbors  the  French — who  manage  this 
matter,  at  all  events,  worse  than  we — in  wild  theories  as  to  the 
transmissibility  of  acute  and  not  of  chronic  glanders.  \Ve  admit 
it  to  be  always  contagious  and  always  deadly,  and  prevent  it  kill- 
ing by  shooting  its  victims. 

Nasal  Gleet. 

\Ve  must  not,  however,  forget  that  there  are  hundreds — nay, 
thousands — of  cases  of  chronic  nasal  discharge  which  admit  of 
some  diagnosis  on  the  part  of  skilled  veterinarians,  and  which 
are  erroneously  set  down  as  cases  of  glanders.  Many  of  these 
cases  are  condemned  because  they  baffle  the  attempts  to  restore 
them  for  a  great  length  of  time;  and,  unfortunately,  in  this 
country  many  forms  of  nasal  disease  have  been  rarely  cured, 
simply  because  their  nature  has  not  been  understood,  and  bold 
surgical  operations  have  been  dreaded.  I  could  relate  the  histo- 
ries of  many  cases  which  have  yielded  to  radical  measures  after 
several  veterinarians  had  pronounced  the  animals  incurably  gland- 
ered— more  to  get  rid  of  them,  perhaps,  than  from  a  conviction 
that  they  were  suffering  from  the  disease.  I  have  seen  as  many 
as  half  a  do^en  animals,  in  a  stable  containing  a  score  of  horses. 


1M  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

gwen  at  by  practitioners  because  they  had  chronic  discharge  and 
swollen  glands  j  and  in  ten  days  or  a  fortnight  all  the  animals 
have  recovered  under  the  influence  of  nasal  injections,  and  the 
internal  administration  of  tonics. 

It  is  impossible  to  enter  into  details  as  to  the  diagnosis  of  a 
great  variety  of  cures.  I  may  mention,  however,  that  the  curable 
discharges  set  out  as  incurable  forms  of  glanders  may  be  grouped 
under  six  heads. 

1st.  Fetid  discharges  from  the  nostril,  owing  to  a  carious  tooth 
and  caries  of  the  upper  jaw.     The  fetor  is  characteristic. 

2d.  Intermittent  discharges  from  an  abscess  in  one  of  the  tur- 
binated bones  within  the  nasal  chamber.  The  swelling  of  the 
nasal  bones  and  flow  of  pus  when  the  head  is  jerked  upward  are 
diagnostic. 

3d.  Continuous  or  intermittent  discharge  from  one  or  both 
nostrils,  from  accumulations  of  pus  in  the  frontal  and  superior 
maxillary  sinuses,  indicated  by  the  shape  of  the  forehead  and  ab- 
sence of  resonance  on  percussion. 

4th.  Irregular  discharge  from  the  guttural  pouches,  brought 
on  by  exercise,  or  seen  when  an  animal  is  made  to  eat  hay,  oats, 
a  turnip,  or  carrots  off  the  ground.  As  the  head  is  depressed  and 
jerked,  a  somewhat  fetid  and  often  abundant  purulent  matter 
flows  freely. 

5th.  Discharges  kept  up  by  foreign  objects  in  the  posterior 
nares,  which  are  continuous  and  fetid. 

6th.  Chronic  regular  nasal  discharge — pure  ozena — dependent 
m  constitutional  causes  and  defective  management  of  acute  ca- 
tarrh. 

All  the  foregoing  varieties  include  the  innumerable  cases  of 
suspected  glanders  for  which  animals  are  wrongfully  destroyei. 
It  is  not  every  practitioner  who  can  or  would  venture  to  open  the 
guttural  pouches,  or  practice  dissection  on  the  bones  of  the  face  to 
such  an  extent  as  we  find  requisite  in  overcoming  deformities  and 
curing  long-standing  diseases.  The  longer  these  cases  are  treated 
by  any  but  the  right  plan,  the  greater  the  difficulties  encountered 
when  surgical  operations  are  determined  upon ;  and  for  this  reason 
even  those  who  would  not  dare  to  cut  should  always  strive  cor- 
rectly to  diagnose  the  form  of  disease  presenting  itself.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  refer  at  greater  length  to  the  method  of  dealing  witb 
the  very  various  forms  of  disease  above  indicated." 


GLANDERS  AND  FARCY.  166 

HOW  CAME  THE  DISEASE  TO  BE  CALLED  GLANDERS. 

Percivael  is  our  authority  for  the  following  explanation 
"The  derivation  of  our  word  glanders  is  traceable  through  the 
French  language,  from  which  we  appear  to  have  borrowed  it,  to 
the  Latin  roots  glandula  and  glans,  the  latter  signifying  any  fruit 
kernel,  such  as  a  chestnut  or  acorn;  the  former,  its  diminutive, 
any  small  fruit  kernel ;  and  both  afterward  used  in  medicine  to 
denote  the  glands  of  the  body,  many  of  which — such  as  were  then 
so  called — are  small  and  comparable,  both  in  shape  and  size,  to 
acorns  or  other  kernels.  Celsus  applies  the  term  glandula  to  a 
swelling  in  the  neck,  supposed  to  be  glandular;  and  Vegetius 
uses  the  same  to  denote  swollen  glands  '  between  the  cheek-bones 
and  lower  jaws : '  from  his  saying,  however,  that  the  glandules  are 
'  especially  troublesome  to  foales,'  it  would  appear  the  disease  he 
meant  to  describe  was  not  glanders,  but  strangles.  The  French 
veterinarians,  following  the  ancient  phraseology,  called  a  horse 
exhibiting  any  submaxillary  tumor  or  enlargement,  glande;  not 
with  any  special  reference  to  glanders,  but  simply  because  his 
glands  or  '  kernels/  as  our  farriers  denominate  them,  had  become 
enlarged ;  hence,  with  the  French,  a  horse  was  said  to  be  glande 
de  gourme,  as  well  as  glande  de  morve  and  glande  de  farcin.  It 
seems  to  have  been  our  English  writers  on  farriery  who  have 
restricted  the  application  of  the  term  to  the  foul  and  malignant 
disease  now  known  under  that  appellation.  Before  then,  glanders 
appears  to  have  had  no  other  meaning  save  that  the  horse  had  tu- 
mefied glands,  or  that,  in  the  farrier's  phrase,  'his  kernels  had 
come  down.'  The  French  call  the  disease  la  morve.  A  horse, 
however,  in  the  estimation  of  Lafosse,  is  not  to  be  regarded  as 
having  la  morve  proprement  dite,  unless  he  be  glande,  or  have  tu- 
mefaction of  his  glands." 

Diagnostic  Symptoms  of  Glanders. — Glanders  consists  in  i  dis- 
charge, from  one  or  both  nostrils,  of  matter  which,  by  transfer  or 
inoculation,  will  produce  the  same  disease  in  another  animal  (of 
Ihe  equine  or  human  species),  and  which  discharge  is,  sooner  or 
later,  accompanied  by  vascular  injection  and  chancrous  ulceration 
of  the  schneiderian  membrane  of  the  nostrils,  and  tumefaction 
of  the  submaxillary  lymphatic  glands,  and  by  farcy;  so  that  a 
horse  can  not  be  considered  as  the  subject  of  glanders  until  these 
symptoms  are  made  manifest. 


156  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

On  a  nsulting  "  Hippopathology,"  I  find  a  paragraph,  ciedited 
to  a  French  surgeon,  who  very  accurately  describes  the  symptoms 
of  glanders.  It  reads  as  follows :  "  The  signs  by  which  the  disease 
may  be  known  are,  when  a  horse,  already  too  old  to  be  troubled 
with  strangles,  without  a  cough,  voids  matter  by  the  nose,  and 
has  a  kernel  sticking  to  the  bone ;  and,  besides,  in  glanders  the 
matter  usually  flows  from  one  nostril,  whereas,  in  a  cold,  it  runs 
always  out  of  both.  Some  cast  the  matter  that  is  voided  by  the 
nostrils  into  water,  and,  if  it  swim  on  the  top,  they  conclude  the 
horse  to  be  free  of  this  distemper ;  but  if  it  sink  to  the  bottom,  it 
is  a  sign  of  glanders,  the  principal  use  of  this  experiment  being  to 
distinguish  the  pus.  But  you  must  not  depend  on  the  certainty 
of  this  sign ;  for  if  the  matter  stick  to  the  nostrils,  like  glue,  it  is 
a  bad  sign,  and  you  may  conclude  the  disease  to  be  the  glanders, 
though  the  matter  do  swim  on  the  top.  When  either  the  breath 
or  matter  that  comes  out  of  the  nostrils  stinks,  the  disease  is  almost 
always  incurable.  I  have  seen  horses  troubled  with  this  distemper 
without  kernels,  or,  if  there  were  any,  they  were  small  and  move- 
able; and  the  only  sign  by  which  we  could  discover  it  to  be 
glanders,  was  the  glueyness  of  the  matter  discharged  from  the  nasal 
outlet." 

Treatment — The  author  knows  of  no  remedy  for  the  cure  of 
glanders.  He  considers  it  an  incurable  disease.  In  fact,  most  of 
our  educated  veterinarians  contend  that  the  disease,  like  pulmo- 
nary consumption,  is  incurable. 

Mayhew,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  veterinary  teachers  of  the 
present  period,  informs  us  that  "  no  medicine  can  restore  the  parts 
which  disease  has  disorganized.  There  is  no  cure  for  glanders, 
which  is  essentially  an  ulcerative  disorder."  And  this  opinion  is 
indorsed  by  others  of  equal  eminence  in  the  profession,  who  were 
employed  lately,  by  the  members  of  an  agricultural  society  in 
England,  to  ascertain  if  there  was  any  specific  for  the  disease 
knowi  as  glanders,  and  the  verdict  was  that  no  specific  could  je 
found.  So  soon  as  glanders  is  discovered  in  the  horse,  he  should, 
by  all  means,  be  destroyed,  and  buried  deep  in  the  earth. 

Farcy  (Disease  of  the  Absorbents). 

This  disease  is  usually  met  with  among  horses  of  the  scrofulous 
diathesis,  which  diathesis  is  known  by  a  proneness  to  diseases  of 


ULANDERS   AND  FARCY.  157 

the  skin,  and  does  not  readily  yield  to  medical  treatment.  Such 
horses  are  noticed  as  belonging  to  the  nervous  temperament,  hav- 
ing thin,  spare  muscles,  wiry  neck  and  limbs,  very  quick  and 
active  in  their  movements,  and  having  a  very  narrow  chest.  Yet 
it  should  be  remembered  that  the  scrofulous  diathesis  may  exist 
in  any  horse,  without  regard  to  his  conformation  or  temperament, 
pi  ;/vided  he  inherit,  from  either  sire  or  dam,  the  requisite  pre- 
disposition. 

The  disease  sometimes  steals  on  in  a  slow  and  insidious  man- 
ner, s:  that  it  is  not  known  to  exist  until,  all  at  once,  the  animal 
becomes  lame,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours,  his  legs  swell; 
large  inflammatory  farcy-buds  appear  just  as  suddenly ;  a  stink- 
ing discharge  takes  place  from  the  nostrils,  and,  unless  the  animal 
be  destroyed,  he  soon  dies.  This  form  of  farcy  may,  very  prop- 
erly, be  denominated  malignant  farcy.  When  the  disease  mani- 
fests itself  after  this  fashion,  it  is  dangerous  for  a  person  to  handle 
the  subject.     He  should  be  destroyed  and  buried. 

A  case  of  this  kind  occurred  very  recently  in  a  large  stable, 
the  facts  of  which  are  as  follows:  The  author  was  requested  to 
visit  a  bay  gelding,  of  the  nervous  temperament,  supposed  to  be 
the  subject  of  a  catarrhal  affection.  He  did  not  show  any  very 
marked  symptoms  of  ill-health,  except  a  slight  discharge  from 
both  nostrils.  He  had  performed  labor  up  to  within  a  few  hours 
of  the  time  of  my  visit,  and  had  partaken  of  his  usual  amount  of 
food.  This  was  toward  evening.  I  directed  the  foreman  to  rub 
the  throat  with  stimulating  liniment.  Two  ounces  of  fluid  extract 
of  resin  weed  were  given  him ;  his  legs  being  cold,  they  were  ban- 
daged, and  a  warm  bran-mash  was  placed  before  him.  Next  day 
he  was  a  pitiable  sight  to  behold.  His  limbs  and  other  parts  of 
the  body  had  become  dropsical;  his  face  and  eyelids  had  become 
so  tumefied  that  the  eyelids  were  almost  totally  closed,  and  scald- 
ing tears  ran  profusely  down  his  cheeks.  In  various  parts  of  the 
body  the  lymphatics  were  tumefied,  presenting  unmistakable  farcy- 
buds.  A  stinking  discharge  ran  from  his  nostrils,  and  he  was  so 
lame  thai  it  was  almost  impossible  to  get  him  out  of  the  stable. 
The  case  being  diagnosed  as  farcy,  the  animal  was  shot. 

Mr.  Percivall,  alludes  to  the  lameness  and  rapid  tumefac- 
tion in  the  following  language:  "I  have  known  horses  so  lame 
from  farcy  before  the  disease  had,  in  any  local  or  characteristic 
form,   declared    itself,   that   shoes   have   been   removed  and  feet 


io8  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

searched,  etc.,  to  discover  the  seat  and  cause  of  lameness,  no  sus- 
picion having  existed  at  the  time  that  farcy  was  present  in  the 
animal's  system.  It  may  so  happen,  however,  that  some  of  the 
preliminary  symptoms  are  observed  or  observable;  that,  on  the 
contrary,  farcy  at  once  develops  itself  in  an  attack  on  some  local- 
ity— most  probably  one  hind  limb.  Indeed,  so  sudden,  sharp,  and 
severe  are  attacks  of  farcy,  in  some  instances,  that,  in  the  course  of 
one  night,  the  horse's  limb  will  be  swollen  to  a  frightful  size,  so  as 
to  incapacitate  him  almost  from  turning  in  his  stall  and  walking 
out  of  the  stable.  Ordinarily,  the  development  of  farcy  plainly 
accounts  for  the  halting  or  lameness,  yet  the  lameness  may  appear 
without  any  ostensible  cause." 

Symptoms. — The  ordinary  symptoms  of  farcy  are,  slight  impair- 
ment of  the  general  health;  feverish  symptoms;  a  small,  quick 
pulse ;  swelling  or  tumefaction  of  one  of  the  hind  legs,  generally 
the  left,  with  much  lameness ;  tumefaction  of  the  lymphatics,  on 
various  parts  of  the  body,  and  in  the  groin.  On  the  inside  of  the 
thighs,  along  the  course  of  the  femoral  vein,  corded,  nodulous 
swellings  will  be  found.  Sometimes  one  or  both  hind  limbs  will 
swell  below  the  hock,  and  an  abscess  may  form  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  fetlock,  and  isolated  blotches  will  break  out,  suppurate,  an'? 
terminate  in  farcy  ulcer.  No  swelling  of  a  hind  limb,  or  any 
other  part,  constitutes  a  case  of  farcy  apart  from  the  unequivocal 
signs  of  lymphatic  disease.  There  must  be  present  corded,  nod- 
ulated swellings,  buds  in  some  form  or  other,  together  with  actual 
or  approaching  tumefaction  of  the  lymphatic  glands,  or  the  case  is 
n»ot  farcy.  The  disease  evidently  affects  the  absorbents.  When 
it  commences  in  those  which  are  deep-seated,  it  usually  ends  in 
glanders.  Glanders  and  farcy  are  considered  the  same  disease; 
yet,  unlike  glanders,  many  cases  of  cure  of  mild  farcy  are  on 
record,  but  the  author  knows  of  none.  A  disease  known  as  lym- 
phatitis  is  often  mistaken  for  farcy,  and,  as  the  former  is  curable 
it  is  often  recorded  that  the  latter  affection  has  been  successfully 
treated. 

Treatment. — I  do  not  know  that  it  is  good  policy  for  me  to  re 
commend  any  form  of  treatment  for  the  disease  known  as  true 
farcy.  It  is  against  the  laws  of  this  country,  and  the  interests  of 
society  for  any  one  to  keep  or  treat  a  case  of  declared  farcy ;  there- 
fore, the  advice  offered  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  glanders 
applies  also  to  farcy.     To  show  the  reader  that  the  author  is  not 


GLANDERS  AND  FAROf.  159 

lingular  in  his  opinion  as  regards  the  treatment  of  this  disease,  3 
quotation  from  Mayhew  is  here  introduced : 

"  Farcy  is,  by  the  generality  of  practitioners,  regarded  as  a 
more  tractable  disease  than  glanders.  Certainly  the  course  of  the 
disorder  is  arrested  much  easier ;  but,  to  cure  the  malady,  there  is 
a  constitution  to  renovate  and  a  virus  to  destroy.  Is  it  in  the 
power  of  medicine  to  restore  the  health  and  strength,  which  have 
Leen  underfed,  sapped  by  a  foul  atmosphere,  and  exhausted  by 
overwork?  Tonics  may  prop  up  or  stimulate  for  a  time;  but  the 
drunkard  and  the  opium-eater,  among  human  beings,  can  inform 
us  that  the  potency  of  the  best  selected  and  the  choicest  drugs, 
most  judiciously  prescribed,  and  carefully  prepared,  is  very  lim- 
ited. Sulphate  of  copper,  iron,  oak  bark,  cayenne  pepper,  and 
cantharides,  probably,  are  the  chief  medicines  the  practitioner  will 
give.  With  such  the  horse  may  be  patched  up ;  he  may  even  re- 
turn to  work.  But  at  what  a  risk !  He  carries  about  the  seeds 
of  a  disorder  contagious  to  the  human  species,  and  in  man  even 
more  terrible  than  the  quadruped.  Is  it  lawful,  is  it  right,  to  try 
to  save  an  avaricious  master  the  chance  of  a  few  shillings,  and 
incur  the  risk  of  poisoning  an  innocent  person?  The  author 
thinks  not.  Therefore  he  will  give  no  directions  how  to  arrest 
the  progress  of  farcy.  The  horse  once  contaminated  is,  indeed, 
very  rarely  or  never  cured.  The  animal,  after  the  veterinary  sur- 
geon has  shaken  hands  with  the  proprietor  and  departed,  too  often 
bears  about  an  enlarged  limb,  which  impedes  his  utility,  and,  at 
any  period,  may  break  forth  again  with  more  than  the  virulence 
of  the  original  affection." 


\ 


SECTION  VII. 

DISEASES    OF'  THE    DIGESTIVE    ORGANS. 

Lampas — Spontaneous  Salivation  -Bots — Inflammation  of  Stomach — Rup- 
ture of  Stomach — Gorged,  op  over-distended  Stomach — Meteorizatios 
— Flatulent  Colic — Spasmodic  Colic — Inflammation  of  the  Peritonum — 
Ascites — Inflammation  of  the  Intestines — Strangulation  of  Intestines- 
Wounds  PENETRATING  THE  ABDOMINAL  CAVITY SPLENIC  APOPLEXY FUNC- 
TIONAL Disease  of  the  Liver — P>\creas;  its  Function — Parasites  which 

AFFECT    THE    INTESTINES. 


Lampas. 

LAMFAS  is  the  name  given  to  a  slight  tumefaction  of  the  soft 
palate  of  the  horse's  mouth.  It  usually  occurs  during  the 
period  of  dentition,  at  which  time  the  mouth  is  hot  and  tender. 
At  the  time  when  the  tushes  are  about  making  their  appearance, 
the  membrane  over  the  crown  of  the  tooth  becomes  tense,  so  as 
to  cause  the  root  of  the  tooth  to  press  on  the  tental  nerve.  This 
causes  much  pain.  In  such  cases  we  make  a  slight  incision  over 
the  region  of  the  tooth,  which  immediately  relieves  the  animal. 
But  most  men  overlook  this  difficulty,  and,  because  the  palate  hap- 
pens to  be  tumified,  it  is  at  once  attacked  with  the  barbarous  firing- 
iron.  This  treatment  was  condemned  by  Percivall,  who,  in 
writing  of  it,  says : 

"  Are  lampas  disease  ?  The  complaints,  frequent  and  grievous, 
which  are  daily  reaching  our  ears,  are  enough  to  persuade  us  that 
they  are  disease.  Every  groom  that  has  an  unthriving  horse,  or 
one  that  does  not  feed,  is  sure  to  search  for  lampas;  and,  should 
he  find  any,  the  cause  of  loss  of  appetite,  etc.,  is  detected,  and  the 
remedy  obvious — burning  them  out.  Many  a  poor  wight  of  a 
horse,  even  when  suffering  from  a  constitutional  disease,  has  been 
subjected  to  this  torturing  operation,  with  a  view  of  demonstrating 

the  sagacity  of  the  groom,  and  thereby  has  got  added  'o  his  other 

(160) 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS. 


16J 


ailments  a  foul,  sloughy,  carious  sore  upon  the  roof  of  his  mouth 
This  may  be  said  to  be  the  fruits  of  the  removal  of  iampas. 

Supposing  that  the  existence  of  Iampas  is  owing  to  the  teeth, 
surely  the  teeth  should  be  removed,  and  not  the  bars  of  the  mouth. 
In  cutting  or  burning  away  the  Iampas,  we  are  mistaking  the  effect 
for  the  cause.  If  it  be  contended  that  Iampas  do  not  owe  their 
production  to  the  irritation  of  teething,  then  I  should  like  to  be 
informed  what  does  give  rise  to  them ;  and,  let  what  will  give  rise 
to  them,  I  do  not  imagine  there  is  any  veterinarian  hardy  enough 


BCBNINQ    A   HORSE  8   MOUTH   FOB   LAKPA8. 

(A  cruel  and  unnecessary  operation.) 


to  contend  that  the  cause  resides  in  the  palate,  and  becomes  re- 
moved by  the  hot  iron.  Those  who  are  entering  private  practice, 
and  find  themselves  compelled,  at  all  times,  to  belie  their  con- 
sciences by  the  performance  of  unnecessary  operations  to  please 
their  employers,  may  be  told  that  burning  out  Iampas  is,  after  all, 
preferable  to  lancing  or  cutting  the  bars;  for,  unless  the  palative 
artery  is  wounded,  very  little  blood  is  obtained  by  stabbing  the 
mouth ;  and  the  wounding  of  this  vessel,  which  will  certainly  take 
place,  should  the  punctures  be  made  along  the  sides  of  tbe  palate. 
or  extend  forward  beyond  the  fourth  bar  from  the  front  teeth,  In 
not  always  a  very  safe  proceeding." 

It  is  an  unfortunate  occurrence  that  men  can  be  found  who  will 

perform  barbarous  and  unnecessary  operations  just  to  please  their 

employers.     If  men  were  true  to  themselves  and  their  profession, 

neither  threats  nor  promises  of  reward  would  tempt  them  to  prac- 

11 


162  DADD'S   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  tiURGERi*. 

tioe  cruelty  on  animals.  It  is  a  fact  that  some  men  are  often  ap- 
parently compelled  to  perform  unnecessary  operations  even  when 
the  inward  monitor  admonishes  them  that  they  are  about  to  out- 
rage the  feelings  of  a  poor  dumb  brute.  Yet,  for  the  honor  of  our 
profession,  let  it  be  recorded  that  there  are  but  few,  if  any,  of  our 
educated  surgeons  that  can  be  induced  to  perpetrate  this  outrage. 
I  f  medical  men  will  only  take  the  pains  to  explain  this  matter,  and 
prove  to  the  people  that  the  enormity  here  complained  of  is  both 
absurd  and  barbarous,  then  the  evil  will  soon  cease ;  but  so  long 
as  horse-owners  believe  lampas  to  be  a  disease,  and  men  can  be 
found  ready  to  "burn  them  out,"  just  so  long  will  the  evil  exist. 
The  more  intelligent  portion  of  husbandmen  are  now  beginning  to 
lend  their  influence  to  the  work  of  rebuking  ignorance,  and  of  re- 
forming the  barbarous  customs  of  bygone  days,  and,  erelong,  it  will 
be  a  difficult  job  to  convince  them  that  their  horses  have  lampas, 
and  that  the  firing-iron  is  the  remedy  indicated.  Surely,  if  the 
distinguished  Peecivall  calls  lampas  a  "  supposed  malady,"  and 
sets  his  face  against  the  means  used  for  its  removal,  the  wise  men 
of  the  fleam  should  indorse  his  sentiments. 

Treatment. — Should  the  colt's  mouth,  while  teething,  be  hot  and 
tender,  it  should  be  sponged  often  with  a  portion  of  equal  parts  of 
vinegar  and  water ;  and  should  any  of  the  teeth  appear  imprisoned 
by  the  membrane  of  the  mouth,  a  slight  incision  over  the  point  of 
the  tooth  will  give  immediate  relief. 

Spontaneous  Salivation — "  Sla.vertxg." 

Persons  who  own  and  handle  horses  must  have  noticed,  occa- 
isionallv,  a  foaming;  at  the  mouth,  and  sometimes  a  constant  and 
profuse  discharge  of  saliva.  This,  when  occurring  without  any 
assignable  cause,  is  termed  spontaneous  salivation.  The  disease  is 
usually  occasioned  by  some  irritation  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  salivary  glands,  or  from  perverted  function  in  the  glands 
themselves.  The  preparations  of  antimony  and  calomel,  when 
given  to  horses  for  any  great  length  of  time,  in  the  form  of  con- 
dition powders,  are  very  apt  to  produce  salivation.  Musty  clover, 
and  hay  that  is  intermixed  with  lobelia,  will  also  produce  it ;  so, 
also,  will  sharp,  projecting  teeth ;  and  diseased  teeth  have  the  same 
effect.  In  such  cases,  the  cause  being  discovered,  the  removal  of 
the  same  is  the  first  step  toward  the  cure.  Then  drench  'he  ani- 
mal, twice  daily,  with  the  following: 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  163 

>  j.  18.  Powdered  chlorate  of  potass 1  oz. 

Water £  pint. 

Should  the  animal  show  signs  of  debility  or  weakness,  give  one 
mnce  of  fluid  extract  of  golden  seal  every  morning,  before  feeding. 
Should  the  mouth  appear  to  be  sore,  from  the  constant  flow  of 
3aliva  over  its  surfaces,  or  from  any  other  cause,  then  the  parts 
should  be  sponged  two  or  three  times  daily  with  a  portion  of 
squal  parts  of  powdered  borax  and  honey,  or  with  an  infusion  of 
bayberry  bark. 

When  spontaneous  salivation  occurs  in  an  aged  horse,  it  denotes 
debility,  and  thus  points  out  the  propriety  of  sustaining  the  pa- 
tient's strength  by  administering  tonics  and  diffusible  stimulants. 
The  following  is  the  best  remedy  for  this  state  of  the  system : 

No.  19.  Fluid  extract  of  chamomile 1  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  ginger £  oz. 

Give  as  a  drench,  night  and  morning.  The  patient  should  hav« 
a  fair  allowance  of  good  nutritious  diet. 

Secretion  of  Saliva  in  Horses. — From  experiments  lately  made, 
it  appears  that  a  healthy  horse  secretes  from  the  paroted  glands, 
which  are  situated  beneath  the  ears  at  the  posterior  angles  of  the 
lower  jaw,  during  active  mastication,  about  one  gallon  of  saliva 
per  hour,  and  other  glands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  throat  and  mouth 
secrete,  in  the  same  amount  of  time,  three  gallons,  making  in  all 
four  gallons  per  hour,  which  is  mixed  with  the  food  during  masti- 
cation. The  following  experiment  was  lately  made  on  an  aged 
horse,  15  hands  2  inches  in  height.  The  tubes  leading  from  the 
paroted  glands  were  divided  on  either  side,  and  so  fixed  as  to 
throw  their  contents  into  vessels  held  for  that  purpose ;  the  ani- 
mal was  then  fed  on  oats,  which  he  masticated  during  a  period  of 
thirty  minutes,  at  the  end  of  which  time  half  a  gallon  of  saliva 
was  caught.  This  calculation,  however,  will  not  hold  good  in  all 
cases ;  for  ravenous  feeders,  who  do  not  thoroughly  masticate  their 
food,  fail  to  secrete  the  necessary  amount  of  saliva ;  hence  the  food 
is  not  properly  masticated  nor  insalivated,  and  can  not,  therefore, 
undergo  proper  digestion;  and  when  food  is  not  thoroughly  di- 
gested, it  imparts  but  little  of  its  nutriment  to  the  body.  Slow 
feeders,  therefore,  are  more  likely  to  accumulate  flesh  than  the 
voracious  ones. 


164  dadds  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery 

Bots  (Stomachic  and  Hemorrhoidal). 

Some  persons  contend  that  bots  are  always  injurious.  Th<* 
author  dissents  from  this  dictum.  It  is  possible  that,  as  in  the  case 
of  intestinal  worms,  which  are  now  recognized  as  the  scavengers 
of  Nature,  that  the  bots  are  Nature's  hirelings,  created  and  com  - 
missioned  to  do  her  bidding,  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  her 
physiological  laws.  The  parent  of  the  bot,  as  Bracy  Clark  re- 
marks, "  selects  her  subjects,"  or,  in  other  words,  pounces  on  those 
who  are  not  in  rapport  with  Nature,  and  hence  have  no  business 
to  enjoy  good  health,  nor  even  to  live. 

This  was  the  case  when  the  people  of  the  great  city  of  London 
were  afflicted  with  the  terrible  plague,  which  ran  riot  and  carried 
off  about  one-fourth  of  the  inhabitants.  The  sanitary  emissary  of 
Nature,  whose  shield  was  emblazoned  with  the  motto,  "  Thus  far 
shalt  thou  go  and  no  further,"  pounced  upon  selected  subjects, 
the  intemperate,  licentious,  and  the  gluttonous,  and  those  who  had 
violated  Nature's  laws  by  wallowing  in  filth  in  down-cellar  loca- 
tions, where  the  breath  of  life — -pure  air — scarcely  ever  entered. 
These  were  the  selected  sufferers.  The  same  is  true  as  regards  the 
mortality  attending  the  yellow  fever,  which  made  such  sad  havoc 
in  the  city  of  New  Orleans  some  years  ago.  The  medical  author- 
ities contend  that  the  disease  carried  off  over  one  thousand  of  the 
inhabitants,  without  touching  a  single  sober  or  temperate  person ; 
hence  the  plague,  the  yellow  fever,  and  the  cholera  may  be  said  to 
be  the  forces  which  Nature  employs  to  maintain  the  integrity  of 
her  laws.  Intestinal  worms,  found  in  the  intestinal  tube  of  the 
emaciated  and  the  glutton,  are  said  to  be  Nature's  scavengers,  and 
the  same  perhaps  is  true  of  bots.  They  may  be  the  agents  of  Na- 
ture, employed  to  keep  the  balance  of  power  within  her  own  hand, 
for  the  purpose,  sometimes,  of  preventing  a  too  rapid  multiplica- 
tion of  the  species ;  at  others,  to  avenge  her  for  crimes  committed 
.gainst  the  laws  of  physiology. 

Let  us,  for  example,  inquire  into  the  history  and  habits  of  some 
of  tbp  inferior  orders  of  creation,  and  we  may  be  led  to  infer  that 
the  presence  of  bots  in  the  stomach  of  a  horse  is  no  deviation  from 
the  general  rule  which  seems  to  pervade  all  creation.  Our  tenure 
of  life  depends  on  the  use  which  we  make  of  it,  and  the  same  is 
true  as  regards  the  horse. 

In  the  study  of  physiology,  we  discover  that  animals  and  insectt? 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  OKGAJNB.  165 

require  the  operation  of  certain  forces,  in  order  that  their  peculiar 
vital  properties  shall  be  manifested.  They  all  require  food,  water, 
and  oxygen — food  for  the  development  of  organized  tissues, 
water  to  maintain  an  equilibrium  between  the  solids  and  fluids, 
and  oxygen  for  promoting  various  changes,  uniting  some  particles 
for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  fabric,  and  disengaging  others  destined 
for  excretion.  These  have  to  be  obtained  under  various  circum- 
stances. The  number  of  the  different  species  of  reptiles  known 
to  naturalists  is  about  1,300,  and  there  are  at  least  160,000  species 
of  insects.  Among  this  vast  assemblage  of  animate  forms,  a  great 
proportion  obtain  food,  water,  and  oxygen  in  a  situation  and  at  a 
temperature  which  is  most  congenial  to  each  species,  each  one  of 
which,  as  species,  exhibit  great  varieties  in  physical  organization 
and  habits ;  and  hence  the  necessity  for  that  diversity  in  geograph- 
ical distribution  which  seems  to  surprise  some  men.  Each  species 
of  animal  and  insect  carry  about  with  them,  in  their  own  organi- 
zation, the  fertile  embryonic  habitation  for  successive  parasitic 
development,  and  all  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  dependent  on  each 
other  for  both  food  and  life.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  there 
"  is  life  within  life."  Begin  with  the  body  of  man,  for  example, 
and  we  shall  find  that  it  is  infested  with  thirty-nine  distinct  spe- 
cies of  entozoa.  These  are  not  confined  to  a  single  location,  as 
the  bots  to  the  digestive  cavity  of  the  horse ;  but  some  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  eye,  bronchial  glands,  kidneys,  liver,  gall,  bladder,  in- 
testines, muscles,  and  even  in  the  blood.  There  are  several  other 
species  of  entophyta,  to  the  number  of  ten,  inhabitants  of  the  skin 
and  mucous  surfaces.  So  that  the  master  can  boast  of  a  larger 
number  of  living  parasites  within  and  about  his  body  than  we 
have  yet  been  able  to  find  in  his  servant,  the  horse.  And  if  the 
former  can  carry  about  in  the  living  citadel  such  a  myriad  of  liv- 
ing, active  creatures,  without  inconvenience,  and  he  being  the 
weaker  party,  why  should  not  the  horse,  who  is  stronger,  be  able 
to  furnish  nutriment  for  some  half  dozen  or  more  bots  that  are 
occasionally  found  in  his  stomach,  and  to  perform  his  2.40  gait 
without  inconvenience?  Some  of  the  inferior  orders  of  creation 
are  the  receptacle  of  a  still  greater  amount  of  parasites.  The 
grasshopper,  for  example,  is  infested  with  a  species  of  gordius,  a 
sort  of  hair-worm,  which  some  persons  have  erroneously  supposed 
to  be  a  transformed  horse-hair.  Several  of  these  coil  themselves 
into  the  digestive  cavity  of  the  former,  at  times  penetrating  the 


166  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

abdomen,  thorax,  and  cranium.  Their  bulk  and  weight  often  ex- 
ceeds that  of  an  ordinary  grasshopper  ;  still  you  see  and  hear  them, 
skipping,  jumping,  and  chirruping,  notwithstanding  this  immens*- 
parasitic  mass,  just  as  freely  as  those  not  infested. 

Then  consider  the  condition  of  the  hog.  We  frequently  find^ 
in  his  liver,  a  vesicle  filled  with  fluid,  apparently  possessing  no 
further  organization.  But  examine  it  carefully,  and  we  shall  find 
within  its  enveloping  tunic  others,  the  rudiments  of  successive 
cells,  in  various  stages  of  growth.  These  are  all  young  hydatids, 
which  contain  still  others,  which  increase  in  size  until  the  parent 
sac  is  so  distended  that  it  finally  bursts,  and  thus  liberates  a  mul- 
titude of  parasites,  which,  in  their  turn,  undergo  the  same  evolu- 
tion, becoming  each  a  parent  hydatid,  producing  a  subsequent 
generation,  which  diffuse  themselves  over  the  whole  body  of  the 
pig;  and  hence  arises  that  peculiar  feature  in  pork  known  as 
measles. 

Examine  the  same  animal  after  he  is  slaughtered,  and  you  may 
possibly  find  in  the  intestines  a  large  number  of  the  ascaris  lum- 
bricoides  (the  common  worm  of  the  human  intestines) ;  and  they 
are  so  prolific  that  naturalists  have  calculated  sixty-four  millions 
of  ova  within  the  body  of  a  single  female,  which  are,  at  the  proper 
season,  deposited  within  the  intestinal  tube  of  the  pig,  who,  not- 
withstanding, grows  fat,  and  furnishes  a  savory  meal  for  the  lovers 
of  pork.  Sheep,  also,  are  infested  with  a  species  of  entozoa  termed 
the  "fluke,"  besides  other  different  species;  and  it  is  only  when 
the  latter  become  very  numerous  that  they  can  be  considered  in- 
jurious. 

We  might  go  on  to  show  that  every  living  being  is  more  or 
less  infested  with  parasites,  and  that  parasites  are,  in  their  turn,, 
the  local  habitation  for  other  parasites.  The  very  atmosphere  we 
breathe,  and  which  is  the  purificator  of  the  vital  current  (the 
blood),  teems  with  an  innumerable  host  of  living  organized  crea- 
tures. The  water  which  serves  to  quench  the  thirst,  that  plays 
so  important  a  part  in  our  economy,  and  in  the  arts  and  sciences, 
whether  it  be  the  ocean,  lake,  river,  pond,  or  gully,  all  contains 
crowds  of  parasites,  or  animalculae,  at  times,  so  numerous  that 
several  hundred  thousand  have,  by  means  of  a  magnifying  lens, 
been  discovered  in  a  single  drop  of  this  fluid.  Yet  such  is  good 
and  pleasant  to  the  taste ;  and  the  water  is  not  injured  thereby ; 
neither  is  it,  in  turn,  injurious  to  man.     Dr.  Leidy  states  that  he- 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  It>7 

uas,  ut  various  times,  purposely  swallowed  large  draughts  of  water 
containing  myriads  of  animalculse,  without  ever  perceiving  any 
effect;  and  he  combats  the  notion  that  diseases  are  produced  01 
propagated  by  these  parasites  taken  into  the  body.  The  most 
curious  feature  in  the  history  of  parasites  is  their  extraordinary 
powers  of  multiplication,  which  is  doubted  by  some;  but  it  is  well 
known  to  others  that  some  species  are  capable  of  producing  a 
hundred  repetitions  of  themselves,  and  the  process  can  be  repeated 
ton  times  in  a  season.  The  common  white  ant  is  capable  of  de- 
positing eggs  at  the  rate  of  80,000  per  day,  for  several  successive 
yeeks,  and  the  common  flesh-maggot  can  be  generated  by  the 
million  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours ;  and  as  regards  growth  and 
development,  the  common  flesh-fly  and  the  caterpillar  increase  in 
weight  200  times  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours. 

But  the  bot  is  a  creature  that  does  not  multiply  nor  increase  in 
bulk  at  this  rapid  rate.  He  may  be  said  to  be  a  "  slow  coach," 
and  when  once  located  in  the  stomach  of  a  horse,  he  generally 
makes  it  his  abode  for  a  season,  at  least.  He  is  a  sort  of  aristo- 
cratic entozoa.  He  lives  in  the  upper  region,  the  stomach.  He 
seldom  condescends  to  mix  with  the  lower  orders  that  infest  the 
alimentary  regions.  The  little  creature  seems  to  exercise  consid- 
erable tact  in  selecting  his  location.  Although  he  has  but  a  squat- 
ter's title  to  it,  yet  it  is  the  best  and  safest  in  the  whole  diggings. 
He  is  in  the  upper  part  of  the  stomach,  where  the  fluids  (poisons 
or  medicines)  with  which  you  are  about  to  coax  or  drive  him  off, 
are  inoperative,  (for  they  merely  give  him  a  sort  of  shower-bath,) 
and  pass  immediately  through  the  stomach  into  the  intestines, 
where  all  the  fluid  a  horse  drinks  is  generally  found ;  therefore 
they  can  not  act  on  the  bot.  Then,  again,  he  is  located  on  the 
cuticular  coat  of  the  stomach,  a  membrane  as  insensible  as  the 
horse's  hoof,  and,  therefore,  not  liable  to  become  diseased,  nor  to  be 
acted  on  by  either  medicine  or  bot  nostrums.  You  may  kill  the 
horse  by  the  same,  but  the  bot,  being  within  his  own  castle,  can 
refuse  whatever  you  offer  him. 

AVe  can  not  make  medicine  act  on  the  external  surface  of  the 
hot,  for  it  does  not  absorb  fluid ;  it  is  impervious.  These  crea- 
tures have  been  put  into  muriatic  acid,  and  kept  there  for  a  time, 
without  being  injured.  You  may  put  them  into  new  rum,  and 
keep  them  for  weeks,  and,  on  taking  them  out  and  exposing  them 
to  the  » ^       cays,  they  will  manifest  vitality. 


ItiS  DADO'S  VETERINARY   MEIUCIJS'E  AND  SURGERV. 

We  often  hear  wonderful  stories  related  of  bots  burrowing 
tnrougli  the  coats  of  the  stomach.  This,  we  think,  rarely  takes 
place  while  the  horse  is  alive.  That  cavity  is  the  home  of  th? 
bot,  its  natural  habitation;  for  we  know  of  no  other.  Here  it 
generally  remains  until  it  is  capable  of  exercising  an  independent 
existence.  In  this  situation  the  little  creature  is  too  comfortabl} 
located  to  burrow  through  the  stomach  into  a  cavity  where  ii 
might  perish  for  want  of  food.  If  the  time  has  arrived  for  it  to 
vacate  its  stronghold,  instinct  teaches  it  the  most  safe  and  expe- 
ditious route,  which  is  through  the  alimentary  canal.  Turn  a 
horse  out  to  grass  in  the  spring,  or  give  him  some  green  fodder  in 
the  stable,  and  the  bots  will  soon  leave  him,  if  they  are  matured ; 
otherwise  they  must  remain  until  that  period  arrives,  unless 
Nature  has  some  work  for  them  to  perform.  vVe  shall  not  contend 
that  bots  are  never  found  in  the  abdominal  cavity,  for  some  per- 
sons have  testified  to  the  fact;  but,  during  a  practice  of  several 
years,  and  having  opportunities  of  making  many  post-mortem 
examinations,  we  have  not  yet  been  able  to  observe  the  phenom- 
ena, except  in  cases  of  ruptured  stomach.  Still,  a  few  solitary 
cases  are  on  record,  and  hence  it  remains  for  us  to  explain  how 
they  got  there. 

We  all  know  that  the  moment  a  horse  dies  his  whole  body  \a 
subject  to  the  common  law  of  decomposition ;  but  the  central  or- 
gans, where  the  greatest  activity  prevailed  during  life,  are  gener- 
ally the  first  to  succumb.  Our  business  is  with  the  stomach,  the 
great  chemical  laboratory,  the  center  of  sympathies — an  organ 
that  is  very  seldom  permitted  to  rest,  consequently  an  active  oik;. 
Its  powerful  solvents,  during  life,  were  busy  in  transforming  hay 
and  grain  into  chyme,  chyle,  and  blood ;  but  now  that  death  has 
the  victory,  the  gastric  fluid  acts  on  the  coats  of  the  stomach,  and 
thus  its  decomposition  is  effected;  so  that  what  was  previously 
good  food  for  bots  is  now  their  bane,  and,  unless  they  escape,  their 
death  is  sure  and  certain. 

The  peristaltic  motion  of  the  intestines,  which  favored  the  exit 
of  the  bots  through  that  channel,  has  ceased;  they  are  too  well 
acquainted  with  its  intricate  labyrinthian  outlet  (their  usual  route) 
to  even  attempt  its  passage.  No !  the  same  energies  of  one  Eternal 
Mind,  "  pervading  and  instructing  all  that  live,"  suggests  the 
only  means  o**  escape  from  threatening  dangers.  Th'e  stomach 
being  partly  decomposed,  offers  but  little  opposition  to  their  en- 


DISEASES  OF   THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  169 

crocvthmeuts.  They  burst  their  prison-house,  and  hence  are  found 
in  the  abdominal  cavity;  and  when  there,  they  may  be  said  to 
have  jumped  from  the  "frying-pan  into  the  fire  !"  Open  a  horse 
immediately  after  death,  and,  provided  his  stomach  be  in  a  healthy 
condition,  we  shall  find  that  the  bots  have  not  penetrated  teyond 
the  cuticular  coat  of  it ;  but  if  he  shall  not  be  examined  until  some 
hours  have  elapsed,  the  bots  may  be  found  to  have  passed  through 
the  walls  of  the  decomposed  stomach  and  its  peritoneal  tunic. 

"We  can  imagine,  also,  that  a  large  number  of  bots  might  con- 
gregate at  a  given  point  in  the  stomach  of  a  horse,  and,  aided  by 
disease,  occasion  a  loss  of  continuity  in  the  fibers  of  that  organ ; 
then,  on  the  slightest  distension  by  wind,  its  walls  might  be  rup- 
tured and  its  function  paralyzed,  and  thus  the  bot  be  involun- 
tarily driven  from  its  home,  to  seek  shelter  and  food  in  another 
location. 

We  contend  that  the  stomach  of  a  horse  is  the  natural  habita- 
tion of  the  bot  during  its  minority,  and,  at  the  proper  season,  the 
digestive  canal  is  the  usual  channel  for  its  introduction  into  the 
external  world ;  and  if  these  parasites  are  ever  found  in  any  other 
situation  within  a  horse's  body,  they  are  there  by  the  force  of  cir- 
cumstances, owing  to  disease  or  rupture  of  the  stomach,  or  from 
some  morbid  condition  in  the  gastric  fluids,  which  arouses  a  set 
of  involuntary  actions  in  response  to  a  stimulus ;  because,  during 
the  whole  period  of  their  minority,  that  is,  the  larveal  state,  (a 
term  which,  in  the  language  of  entomology,  applies  to  the  bot  from 
the  time  of  emerging  from  the  egg,  or  nit,  up  to  that  period  when 
it  vacates  the  horse  and  assumes  the  form  of  a  gad-fly),  they  are 
in  the  same  condition  as  a  new-born  babe  or  an  idiot — the  one 
imbibing  its  mother's  milk,  and  the  other  performing  unnatural 
antics,  both  appearing  to  lack  that  train  of  mental  operations 
which  implies  knowledge,  motive,  or  the  consequences  resulting 
from  such  actions.  "We  very  much  doubt  if  the  bot  can,  at  any 
time,  by  voluntary  act,  vacate  the  body  of  the  horse.  Reason- 
ing from  analogy,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  result 
is  accomplished  through  their  instinctive  properties,  which  are 
common  to  many  insects  and  parasites — a  perfect  adaptation  of 
it. sans  to  an  end — by  which  they  perform  a  certain  set  of  opera- 
tions without  choice,  purpose,  or  intention  of  their  own,  yet,  in 
many  eases,  producing  results  which  man,  through  the  aid  of  his 
superior  intellect,  has  not  been  able  to  surpass. 


170  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Persons  who  have  paid  any  attention  to  the  study  of  physiology, 
are  aware  that  these  instinctive  or  involuntary  movements,  per- 
formed without  consciousness,  are  the  birthright  of  a  vast  number 
of  the  inferior  orders  of  creation;  therefore,  it  is  not  likely  that 
the  bot  would,  even  if  he  possessed  the  power,  voluntarily  vacate 
a  location  favorable  to  its  growth  and  development. 

Veterinary  surgeons  have  long  since  discarded  the  absurd  notion 
that  bots  are  the  cause  of  any  oain  or  suffering  to  horses.  In  fact, 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  of  them  assert  that  these  little 
creatures,  with  their  rough  exterior,  are  rather  beneficial  than 
otherwise,  and  that,  by  friction  and  irritation,  they  arouse  the 
sluggishness  of  the  stomach,  and  thus  promote  digestion.  Per- 
sons unacquainted  with  these  facts  are,  therefore,  apt  to  attribute 
effects,  during  life,  to  causes  which  happen  after  death,  and,  conse- 
quently, the  poor  horse  has  to  be  dosed  with  all  sorts  of  nostrums. 

So  popular  has  been  the  belief  that  bots  are  injurious  to  horses, 
and,  therefore,  must  be  expelled  at  all  hazards,  that  almost  all  the 
old  works  on  farriery  contained  some  favorite  recipe  for  their  ex- 
pulsion. Popular  opinion,  too,  has  been  so  much  in  favor  of  the 
theory,  that  Mr.  Perctvall  thought  it  his  duty,  as  a  public 
teacher,  to  make  use  of  the  following  language : 

"  You  may  boldly  assert  that  bots  are  in  nowise  injurious.  Still, 
you  can  not  persuade  the  world  so,  and,  therefore,  you  must  be 
prepared  to  meet  the  complaints  of  those  unbelievers,  who  will, 
now  and  then,  declare  that  their  horses  have  bots,  which  must  be 
got  rid  of.  But  I  know  of  no  medicine  that  has  the  power  of 
destroying ;  and  even  if  we  possessed  such,  I  am  not  sure  that  we 
could,  even  when  dead,  detach  them  from  the  cuticular  coat  of  the 
stomach,  to  which  they  are  attached  by  small  horns." 

In  allusion  to  the  parasites  which  infest  the  human  body,  "Wat- 
son remafks: 

"  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  numerous  parasites  do  crawl  over  the 
surface  of  our  bodies,  burrow  beneath  our  skin,  nestle  in  our  en- 
trail-  and  riot  and  propagate  their  kind  in  every  corner  of  our 
frame,  producing  ofttimes  such  molestation  and  disturbance  as  to 
require  the  interference  of  medicine.  Nearly  a  score  of  animals 
that  have  their  dwelling-place  in  the  interior  of  the  human  body 
have  been  already  discovered  and  described,  and  scarcely  a  tissue 
or  an  organ  but  is  occasionally  profaned  by  their  inroads.  Each, 
also,  has  its  special  or  its  favorite  domicile.     One  species  enoosc* 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  171 

the  heart  for  its  place  of  abode;  another  inhabits  the  arteries;  a 
third,  the  kidney.  'Myriads  of  minute  worms  lie  coiled  up  in  the 
voluntary  muscles  or  in  the  areolar  tissue  that  connects  the  flesh 
fibers.  The  guinea-worm  and  chigoe  bore  through  the  skin,  and 
reside  in  the  subajacent  reticular  membrane.  Hydatids  infest 
various  parts  of  the  body,  but  especially  the  liver  and  brain.  A 
little  fluke,  in  general  appearance  much  like  a  minature  flounder, 
lives,  steeped  in  gall,  in  the  biliary  vessels.  If  you  squeeze  from 
the  skin  of  your  nose,  what  is  vulgarly  called  a  maggot  (the  contents 
of  one  of  the  hair-pellicles),  it  is  ten  to  one  that  you  find  in  that 
small  sebaceous  cylinder  several  animalcules,  extremely  minute, 
yet  exhibiting,  under  the  microscope,  a  curious  and  complicated 
structure.  Even  the  eye  has  its  living  inmates;  but  it  is  in  the 
alimentary  tube  that  we  are  most  infested  with  these  vermin." 

It  is  evident,  from  competent  testimony,  that  these,  as  well  as 
other  kinds  of  parasites,  are  always  more  or  less  injurious ;  hence 
the  same  may  be  true  as  regards  the  bot  in  a  horse's  stomach.  The 
best  authority  we  have  for  the  origin  and  history  of  the  bot  ia 
Braoy  Clark,  V.  S.,  a  selection  from  whose  works  is  here  in- 
troduced : 

"The  (Estrus  Equi,  or  the  Stomach  Bot. — "When  the  female  has 
been  impregnated,  and  the  eggs  sufficiently  matured,  she  seeks 
among  the  horses  a  subject  for  her  purpose ;  and  approaching  him 
on  the  wing,  she  carries  her  body  nearly  upright  in  the  air,  and 
her  tail,  which  is  elevated  or  lengthened  for  the  purpose,  curved 
inward  and  upward.  In  this  way  she  approaches  the  part  where 
she  designs  to  deposit  the  egg,  and,  suspending  herself  for  a  few 
seconds  before  it,  suddenly  darts  upon  it,  and  leaves  the  egg  ad- 
hering to  the  hair.  She  hardly  appears  to  settle,  but  merely 
touches  the  hair,  with  the  egg  held  out  on  the  projected  point  of 
the  abdomen.  The  egg  is  made  to  adhere  by  means  of  a  gluti- 
nous liquor  secreted  with  it.  She  then  leaves  the  horse  at  a  small 
distance,  and  prepares  a  second  egg,  and,  poising  herself  before  the 
part,  deposits  it  in  the  same  way.  The  liquor  dries,  and  the  egg 
becomes  firmly  glued  to  the  hair.  This  is  repeated  by  these  flies 
till  four  or  five  hundred  eggs  are  sometimes  placed  on  one  horse. 
The  skin  of  the  horse  is  usually  thrown  into  a  tremulous  motion 
on  the  touch  of  this  insect,  which  merely  arises  from  the  very  great 
irritability  of  the  skin  and  cutaneous  muscles  at  this  season  of  the 
year,  occasioned  by  the  heat  and  continual  teasing  cC  the  flies,  till, 


172 


DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


at  length,  these  muscles  appear  to  act  involuntarily  on  the  slightest 
touch  of  any  body  whatever. 


THE  (ESTRUS  EQtJI. 


1.  The  female  fly.  about  to  deposit  an  egg. 

2.  The  male  fly. 

3.  The  egg ;  its  natural  size. 

4.  The  egg  magnified. 


5.  The  newly-hatched  bot. 

6.  The  bot  full-grown. 

7.  The  head  of  a  bot  magnified. 
«.  The  chrysalis. 


The  inside  of  the  knee  is  the  part  on  which  these  flies  are  most 
fond  of  depositing  their  eggs,  and  next  to  this  on  the  side  and  back 
part  of  the  shoulder,  and  less  frequently  on  the  extreme  ends  of  the 
hairs  of  the  mane.  But  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  attention  that  the 
fly  does  not  place  them  promiscuously  about  the  body,  but  con- 
stantly on  those  parts  which  are  most  liable  to  be  licked  with  the 
tongue,  and  the  ova,  therefore,  are  always  scrupulously  placed 
within  its  reach. 

The  eggs  thus  deposited  I  at  first  supposed  were  loosened  from 
the  hairs  by  the  moisture  of  the  tongue,  aided  by  its  roughness, 
and  were  conveyed  to  the  stomach,  where  they  were  hatched ;  but 
on  more  minute  search,  I  do  not  find  this  to  be  the  case,  or,  at 
least,  only  by  accident ;  for  when  they  have  remained  on  the  hairs 
four  or  five  days,  they  become  ripe,  after  which  time  the  slightest 
application  of  warmth  and  moisture  is  sufficient  to  bring  forth,  in 
an  instant,  the  latent  larva?.  At  this  time,  if  the  tongue  of  the 
horse  touches  the  egg,  its  operculium  is  thrown  open,  and  a  small 
active  worm  is  produced,  which  readily  adheres  to  the  moist  surface 
of  the  tongue,  and  is  thence  conveyed  with  the  food  to  the  stom- 


DISEASES  01'   THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  173 

nJii  At  the  first  hatching,  as  we  observe,  it  is  a  small,  active 
worm,  long  in  proportion  to  its  thickness ;  but  as  its  growth  ad- 
vances, it  becomes  proportionably  thicker  and  broader,  and  beset 
with  bristles. 

Bots  are  very  frequent  in  horses  that  have  been  at  grass,  and 
are,  in  general,  found  adhering  to  the  white  insensible  tissue  or  coat 
of  the  stomach.  They  usually  hang  in  dense  clusters  to  the  white 
cuticular  lining  of  the  stomach,  and  maintain  their  hold  by  means 
of  two  dark  brown  hooks,  between  which  a  longitudinal  slit  is  seen, 
which  is  the  mouth  of  the  larvae.  When  removed  from  the  stomach 
by  tne  fingers,  by  a  sudden  jerk,  so  as  not  to  injure  them,  they 
will,  if  fresh  and  healthy,  attach  themselves  to  any  loose  mem- 
brane, and  even  to  the  skin  of  the  hand.  For  this  purpose  they 
sheath  or  draw  back  the  hooks  almost  entirely  within  the  skin, 
until  the  two  points  come  close  to  each  other.  They  then  present 
them  to  the  membrane,  and,  keeping  them  parallel  till  it  is  pierced 
through,  they  expand  them  in  a  lateral  direction,  and  afterward,  by 
bringing  the  points  downward  toward  themselves,  they  include  a 
sufficient  piece  of  the  membrane,  to  remain  firmly  fixed  for  any 
length  of  time,  as  if  at  anchor.  These  bots  pass  the  autumn, 
winter,  and  spring  months  in  the  stomach,  and  arrive,  about  the 
commencement  or  middle  of  the  summer,  at  their  full  growth, 
requiring  a  year  to  fully  complete  their  structure. 

Tlie  (Estrus  Hemorrhoidalis,  or  Fundament  Bot. — The  parts 
chosen  by  this  insect  for  this  purpose  is  the  lips  of  the  horse, 
which  is  very  distressing  to  the  animal,  from  the  excessive  titra- 
tion it  occasions;  for  he  immediately  rubs  his  mouth  against  the 
ground,  his  fore-legs,  or  sometimes  against  a  tree,  with  great 
emotion,  till  the  animal,  at  length,  finding  this  mode  of  defense 
insufficient,  quits  the  spot  enraged,  and  endeavors  to  avoid  it 
by  galloping  away  to  a  distant  part  of  the  field;  and  if  the  fly 
still  continues  to  follow  and  tease  him,  his  last  resource  is  in  the 
water,  where  the  oestrus  never  is  observed  to  pursue  him.  These 
flies  appear  sometimes  to  hide  themselves  in  the  grass,  and,  as  the 
horse  stoops  to  graze,  they  dart  on  the  mouth  or  lips,  and  are 
always  observed  to  poise  themselves,  during  a  few  seconds,  in  the 
air,  while  the  egg  is  preparing  on  the  extended  point  of  the  abdo- 
men. When  several  of  these  flies  are  confined  in  a  close  place, 
they  have  a  particularly  strong,  musty  smell ;  and  I  have  observed 
both  sheep  and  horses,  when  teased  by  them,  to  look  into  the  grass 


174 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


and  smell  it  very  anxiously ;  and  if  they,  by  these  means,  dis- 
cover the  fly,  they  immediately  turn  aside  and  hasten  to  a  distant 
part  of  the  field.  I  once  saw,  in  a  meadow  or  field,  upon  the 
cliffs  of  Margate,  a  fly  of  this  sort  teasing  a  horse  that  was  con- 
fined to  a  small  space  by  a  spike  stuck  in  the  ground,  to  which  a 
cord  was  tied.  He  could  not  get  away  from  its  attack,  and  became 
quite  furious,  for  in  kicking  at  the  fly  with  his  fore-foot,  which  he 
did  vehemently,  he  often  struck  the  bone  of  the  lower  jaw,  creating 
excessive  pain ;  for  in  that  direction,  while  grazing,  the  fly  comes 
to  the  beard  of  the  lower  lip. 


THE  (ESTRUS   HEMORRHOIDALIS. 

1.  The  female  about  to  deposit  an  egg. 

2.  The  egg  magnified.  ! 

5.  The  male  fly. 


3.  The  bot. 

4.  The  chrysalis. 


The  eggs  of  this  species  are  difficult  to  be  seen  upon  the  horse's 
skin  or  beard,  owing  to  the  agitation  of  the  beast,  and  from  the 
color  of  the  egg  being  dark,  like  that  of  the  skin  of  the  horse. 
The  animal  has  been  generally  too  impatient,  while  undergoing 
this  operation,  to  let  me  examine  them  very  well.  I  ascertained, 
however,  its  form  by  pressing  one  of  these  eggs  from  the  abdomen. 

The  larvae,  or  grubs,  of  this  species  inhabit  the  stomach  as  the 
former,  generally  adhering  to  the  white  lining,  and  are  disposed 
promiscuously  in  dense  clusters,  after  the  same  manner.  They 
may,  however,  be  distinguished  from  them  by  being,  in  general, 
smaller  and  longer  in  proportion  to  their  bulk. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  175 

The  larva  of  this  species  may  be  obtained  from  almost  any  horse 
that  has  been  much  the  preceding  year  at  grass,  and  exposed  to 
these  flies,  and  will  be  found,  during  the  summer  months,  sticking 
more  or  less  within  the  verge  or  opening  of  the  anus,  adhering  to 
its  soft  lining,  and  producing  considerable  irritation  and  uneasiness. 
Indeed,  I  once  well  remember  being  on  a  tour  of  pleasure  in  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  and  experiencing  much  annoyance  from  these 
larva.  The  little  horse  I  had  hired  for  the  journey  became  so 
lazy  and  unwilling  to  go  on,  and  moved  so  awkwardly,  that  I 
could  not  keep  pace  with  my  company,  and  I  was  at  a  loss  how 
to  proceed ;  but,  on  casually  taking  up  the  tail,  I  discovered  three 
or  four  of  these  insects  hanging  to  the  rectum,  and  their  removal 
instantly  proved  a  cure." 

It  is  very  likely  that  the  fundamental  or  hemorrhoidal  bot 
does  produce  some  irritation  within  the  rectum,  but  not  more  so 
than  the  ascaris,  or  the  filaria,  which  inhabit  the  intestines,  in- 
cluding the  rectum,  of  both  man  and  horse.  Taking  a  rational 
and  scientific  view  of  this  subject,  the  author  is  inclined  to  believe 
that  all  parasites  infesting  the  bodies  (or  living  citadels)  of  the  su- 
perior orders  of  creation  are  only,  in  their  essence,  so  many  modes 
of  death,  more  or  less  sudden  or  gradual,  as  the  case  may  be,  or 
as  the  exigencies  of  Nature  require.  In  some  cases  it  is  supposed 
to  be  a  beneficent  provision  that  some  horses,  as  well  as  men, 
should  have  a  gradual  exit  out  of  life,  when,  by  virtue  of  their 
constitution,  they  inherited  no  long  lease  of  it.  The  parasites 
here  alluded  to,  and  others  not  mentioned,  may  be  classed  as  so 
many  diseases,  which  never  prove  mortal  unless  the  individual's 
lease  of  life  has  expired,  and  then,  as  before  remarked,  he  has  no 
tenure  on  longevity.  In  taking  this  view  of  the  subject,  the 
reader  will,  of  course,  infer  that  all  extraneous  or  accidental  causes 
of  death  are  excluded. 

Disease,  which  probably  includes  the  presence  of  ail  parasites, 
in  the  bodies  of  men  and  animals,  may  be  considered  as  the  trials 
of  pilgrimage  life,  and,  therefore,  may  be  classed  as  the  check- 
mates to  Nature.  In  order  to  play  the  game  of  life  so  as  not  to 
get  checkmated,  we  must  understand  the  law  of  rational  physiol- 
ogy, and  use  our  intelligence  accordingly,  to  preserve  health.  In 
the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the  term  disease,  it  does  not  mean 
much  of  any  thing;  for  it  does  not  express  the  manner  in  which 
the  animal  is  affected.     It  simply  means  that  he  is  sick,  from 


176  DADPS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  StJIuJEitl. 

some  cause  or  other.  A  man  or  animal  may  oe  diseased  without 
our  expression  of  the  manner  in  which  either  are  affected,  just  aa 
a  flower  may  be  said  to  be  colored  without  designating  its  partic- 
ular hue.  In  each  case  we  receive  definite,  although  negative, 
ideas—  -in  the  one,  that  the  creature  is  not  in  health ;  in  the  other, 
ihat  the  flower  is  not  colorless.  And  so  the  same  reasoning  may 
apply  when  bots  become  the  subject  of  our  consideration.  In  a 
given  case,  they  may  prove  injurious  (according  to  our  ideas),  and 
in  another  they  may  remain,  for  a  certain  length  of  time,  perfectly 
harmless ;  so  tkat  the  animal  infected  or  infested  may  or  may  not 
suffer  any  infliction,  but  trot  on  through  the  journey  of  life  just 
as  long  as  horse-life  is  worth  wearing. 

As  regards  the  several  modes  of  death  to  horse  flesh,  in  which 
bots  are  said  to  play  an  active  part,  they  may  thus  be  stated: 
Bots  sometimes  congregate,  in  large  numbers,  at  the  superior  or 
inferior  inlet  or  outlet  of  the  stomach,  and  thus  produce  mechan- 
ical obstruction  to  the  passage  of  both  semi-fluids  and  solids ;  and 
the  result  is,  equine  death.  The  author  once  held  an  autopsy, 
which  revealed  the  presence  of  a  cluster  of  bots,  numbering  about 
one  hundred,  located  in  the  cardiac  region  of  the  oesophagus. 
They  completely  obstructed  the  passage  of  food  into  the  stomach. 
The  horse  died  suddenly,  as  if  suffocated,  from  distension  of  the 
oesophagus  and  pressure  on  the  trachea. 

The  following  case,  furnished  for  the  "  Veterinarian  "  by  Sur- 
geon Mather,  illustrates  another  mode  of  death  from  the  pres- 
ence of  bots : 

"  The  inclosed  tongue  and  larynx  I  took  from  a  foal  this  even- 
ing, which  I  shall  feel  obliged  to  you  for  examining,  as  at  the  base 
of  the  tongue  you  will  find  about  a  score  of  what  appear  to  me  to 
be  perfeet  specimens  of  a  small  bot.  I  have  only  made  a  partial 
examination,  as  I  was  anxious  to  send  the  specimen  off  to  you 
before  it  became  decomposed,  as  the  weather  is  very  hot.  The 
history  of  the  case  is  as  follows :  Two  days  ago  I  was  requested  to 
go  to  Lord  Glasgow's  breeding  establishment,  to  see  a  foal  that 
was  unwell.  I  inquired  of  the  stud-groom  how  long  the  animal 
had  been  ill,  and  he  informed  me  that  three  days  ago  it  appeared 
to  have  a  difficulty  in  swallowing,  and  that  he  noticed  some  saliva 
issuing  from  its  mouth ;  and  that,  thinking  it  had  a  sore  throat, 
he  had  rubbed  some  embrocation  upon  the  parts.  On  examining 
the  animal,  I  found  it  in  a  very  debilitated  state.     Pulse,  very 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  177 

weak,  and  numbering  80;  ears  and  legs,  extremely  cold,  associated 
with  shivering  fits  of  the  entire  body;  mouth,  filled  with  partly 
masticated  hay  and  grass;  tongue,  furred.  The  animal  had  seem 
ingly  a  desire  to  eat,  but  was  unable  to  open  its  mouth  more  than 
about  an  inch.  It  was  likewise  unable  to  swallow  any  thing  but 
liquids,  and  these  only  in  very  small  quantities.  In  spite  of  all  I 
could  do,  the  power  of  swallowing  got  worse,  and  this  morning  it 
died,  very  much  to  their  disappointment,  as  it  was  a  very  high- 
bred animal. 

Could  this  foal  have  taken  in  the  ova  of  the  gad-fly,  and  some 
of  them  become  hatched,  and,  instead  of  passing  into  the  stomach, 
have  become  adherent  to  the  base  of  the  tongue,  and  there  set.  up 
such  an  amount  of  irritation  as  to  cause  the  parts  to  swell  so  as  to 
prevent  the  animal  from  swallowing? 

Observations  on  the  Case. — We  are  indebted  to  Assistant  Pro- 
fessor Varnell  for  the  following  remarks  upon  this  singular  case : 

'  The  morbid  specimen  forwarded  by  Mr.  G.  Mather,  is  of  very 
rare  occurrence.  We  have  never  met  with  such  an  one  before,  nor 
are  we  aware  that  a  similar  instance  has  ever  been  recorded.  The 
parts  came  to  hand  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  although  the 
temperature  at  the  time  was  very  high,  so  that  we  were  enabled 
to  form  a  pretty  correct  opinion  as  to  the  nature  of  the  changes 
that  had  taken  place  during  the  life  of  the  animal.  The  dorsum 
of  the  tongue,  its  root,  the  whole  of  the  surface  of  the  fences,  the 
velum  palati,  and  the  margin  of  the  glottal  opening,  as  well  as  the 
lining  membrane  of  the  larynx  and  pharynx,  were  very  much  in- 
flamed, and,  in  places,  considerably  thickened.  These  parts  were 
likewise  covered  with  a  deposit  seemingly  consisting  of  a  mixture 
of  mucus,  lymph,  and  pus. 

The  most  remarkable  feature,  however,  of  the  case  was  in  the 
cause  that  had  given  rise  to  the  inflammatory  state  of  the  throat; 
namely,  the  existence  of  a  number  of  small  bots — the  oestrus  hem- 
orrhoidalis  (the  '  red-tailed  horse  bot'  of  Bracy  Clark) — which 
were  found  to  be  firmly  adhering,  by  their  tentacula,  to  the  mu- 
cous membrane.  Besides  the  number  which  were  still  in  situ. 
many  others  had  apparently  been  attached  to  the  parts,  but  which 
had,  most  likely,  been  lost  in  the  handling  they  had  undergone. 

By  a  little  reflection,  we  may  probably  form  a  correct  opinion 
as  to  how  these  parasites  became  located  in  this  unusual  situation. 
We  imagine  that  the  foal,  by  licking,  gathered  the  ova,  in  a  state 
"  12 


178  DADb'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  Sl'RGERV. 

of  perfection,  from  the  hail*  of  its  dam,  on  which  they  had  been 
deposited,  rather  than  from  its  own  coat.  The  perfected  ova, 
being  thus  taken  into  the  mouth,  became  first  entangled  in  its 
mucus,  and  finally  lodged  in  those  shallow  recesses  at  the  root  of 
the  tougue,  where  they  became  hatched.  Some  of  these  creatures 
measured  as  much  as  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  rather 
less  than  one  in  diameter.  They  were  firmly  fixed,  by  their  littlf 
booklets,  apparently  to  the  innei  surface  of  the  mucous  follicles. 
Their  free  extremities  were  of  a  deep  red  color,  and  their  bodies 
of  a  yellowish  brown.' " 

Treatment. — The  only  remedy  for  ridding  the  system  of  bots  is 
a  run  at  grass,  in  the  month  of  May. 

Gastritis,  or  Inflammation  op  the  Stomach. 

Acute  inflammation  of  the  stomach  seldom,  if  ever,  occurs 
among  horses  as  a  spontaneous  affection.  It  is  usually  occasioned 
by  irritating  medicines  or  poisons,  or  food  of  an  inferior  quality. 
When  an  irritating  poison  has  been  received  into  the  stomach,  and 
excites  inflammation  there,  or  when  acute  inflammation  arises 
from  any  cause,  the  symptoms  which  mark  that  inflammation  are 
pain,  distress,  and  restlessness ;  a  loathing  of  food ;  for,  if  any  thing 
be  given  by  the  mouth,  it  creates  increased  pain.  The  animal 
breaks  out  in;a  cold  sweat,  lies  down  and  quickly  rises  again,  be- 
comes early  and  greatly  prostrated  in  strength,  and  has  a  pulse 
usually  quick  and  much  oppressed.  Sometimes  purging  sets  in ; 
at  others,  the  bowels  are  constipated.  The  disease  is  very  apt  to 
run  into  eastro-enteritis — inflammation  of  the  stomach  and  bowels. 

Treatment. — The  general  treatment  consists  in  the  administra- 
tion of  slippery-elm  mucilage,  and  half-ounce  doses  of  chlorate  of 
potass,  two  or  three  times  per  day.  Should  gas  accumulate  in  the 
gtomach  or  bowels,  give  one  ounce  of  hyposulphite  of  soda,  dissolved 
in  a  pint  of  warm  water.  The  ordinary  drink  should  consist  >f 
hay  tea,  to  which  a  small  quantity  of  molasses  may  be  added. 

Rupture  of  the  Stomach. 

Rupture  of  the  stomach  is  always  a  fatal  malady,  over  which 
neither  art  nor  nature  has  any  control ;  yet,  the  accident  being  one 
of  frequent  occurrence,  it  becomes  necessary  for  us  to  know  some- 


DISEASES  01   THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  179 

thing  regarding  its  cause  and  symptoms,  which  are  all  detailed  in 
the  following  case,  from  the  author's  note-book : 

Death  of  a  Horse  from  Ruptured  Stomach,. — The  subject,  a  black 
gelding,  nine  years  old,  had  been  driven  a  distance  of  twelve  miles 
into  the  city;  on  arriving  at  the  "City  Hotel  stable,"  he  first 
manifested  signs  of  uneasiness,  by  pawing  with  his  feet  and  turn- 
ing his  head  toward  the  belly.  He  finally  got  down,  rolled, 
tumbled  about,  and  passed  considerable  flatus,  etc.  His  owner, 
supposing  him  to  be  the  subject  of  colic,  administered  a  dose  of 
"  fire-water,"  in  the  form  of  gin  and  cayenne  pepper,  followed  by 
three  ounces  of  spirits  of  niter.  He  urinated  freely,  passed  con- 
siderable flatus,  yet  grew  no  better  very  fast.  Four  hours  from 
the  commencement  of  the  attack  our  attention  was  called  to  him. 
The  case  then  appeared  hopeless,  consequently  we  declined  pre- 
scribing. The  following  were  the  symptoms:  Pulse,  small  and 
thready ;  in  number,  fifty-six ;  respirations,  sixty — laborious, 
emitting,  occasionally,  a  sort  of  grunt,  indicative  of  pressure,  from 
a  distended  stomach,  on  the  diaphragm  and  lungs.  The  eyes 
were  amaurotic  (pupils  dilated  and  loss  of  vision) ;  sclerotica 
(white  of  the  eye)  slightly  injected;  conjunctival  membrane, 
within  the  eyelids,  surcharged  with  blood.  The  buccal  membrane, 
within  the  mouth,  intensely  inflamed,  induced,  probably,  by  the 
fire-water  drench.  The  tongue  was  of  a  leaden  hue,  and  the  nasal 
membranes  were  somewhat  reddened.  The  body,  or  external 
surface,  was  the  seat  of  profuse  perspiration,  which  ran  down  the 
limbs  like  rain.  They,  as  well  as  other  parts  of  the  body,  re- 
mained comfortably  warm  until  within  a  few  minutes  of  death. 
There  appeared  to  be  considerable  distension  in  the  region  of  the 
stomach,  and  less  at  the  flanks,  from  which  circumstance  we  con- 
cluded that  the  patient  was  laboring  under  tympanitis  (windy  dis- 
tension) of  the  stomach.  At  the  moment  of  death,  the  reverse 
was  the  case,  which  circumstance  seemed  to  confirm  this  opinion ; 
for  then,  the  stomach  being  ruptured,  the  gas  would  diffuse  itself 
in  the  abdominal  cavity  and  increase  in  bulk. 

Aspect  and  motions  of  the  body. — The  head  was  kept  within 
striking  distance  of  the  ground;  the  tail  was  elevated,  and  kept 
in  a  quivering  condition  (involuntary).  The  fore  extremities  were 
advanced,  one  leg  frequently  crossing  the  other ;  the  hinder  parts 
maintained  a  crouching  attitude,  and  the  penis  hung  pendulous. 
When  not  in  this  position,  the  patient  would  revolve  in  a  circle ; 


J80  dadds  veterinary  medicine  and  surgeky. 

then  lie  down  flat  on  his  side,  turn  his  head  toward  the  ribs,  au<L 
after  a  short  time,  raise  the  forward  parts,  and  sit  on  his  haunches 
like  a  dog.  At  last  he  fell  over,  gave  two  or  three  convulsive 
struggles,  and  died,  just  thirty-five  minutes  from  the  time  we  fi.:ct 
saw  him. 

Next  morning,  in  company  with  Dr.  Wood,  we  proceeded  te 
Ward's  establishment,  but  came  very  near  being  too  late ;  for  ihe 
metamorphosis  of  the  horse  into  grease,  food  for  swine,  etc.,  had 
commenced.  We  however  had  an  opportunity  to  make  a  casual 
examination  of  some  of  the  organs,  and  found  a  rupture  of  the 
stomach  of  some  six  or  eight  inches.  The  contents,  some  of  which 
were  found  in  the  abdominal  cavity,  weie  very  imperfectly  (crudely) 
masticated.  It  may  be  proper,  therefore,  to  name  the  disease  in- 
digestion ;  its  consequences,  tympanitis  of  the  stomach ;  the  cause 
of  death,  rupture  of  the  stomach.  The  loss  of  vision  referred  to 
is  one  of  the  symptoms  which  generally  attends  acute  indigestion. 

A  person,  who  was  present  during  the  last  moments  of  the  ani- 
mal's life,  asked  if  we  were  not  going  to  give  or  administer  some- 
thing. Our  reply  was,  that  we  never  tortured  dying  horses  by 
forcing  drugs  down  their  throats.  One  of  our  duties,  as  a  physi- 
cian, was  to  know  when  to  withhold  medicine — when  to  do 
nothing ;  and  another  equally  important  one  was  to  be  able  to 
discriminate  between  a  hopeless  and  curable  case.  The  one  in 
question  was  beyond  the  aid  of  science,  and,  therefore,  in  view  of 
"  clearing  our  skirts  "  of  being  the  cause  of  death  by  administer- 
ing the  last  dose  (a  charge  that  is  often  ungenerously  laid  at  the 
door  of  medical  men),  we  preferred  to  watch  the  dying  animal, 
and  give  directions  calculated  to  lessen  the  pains  of  death. 

Unfortunately  for  us  and  our  patients,  many  employers  form  an 
estimate  of  medical  qualification  in  proportion  tc  the  amount  of 
medicine  administered.  They  have  an  idea  that  the  more  medi- 
cine we  give,  the  greater  are  our  efforts  to  control  the  disease,  and 
the  more  willing  are  they  to  pay  for  the  same,  when,  in  ninety- 
nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  the  very  reverse  is  the  case;  for 
many  diseases  to  which  horses  and  cattle  are  subject  have  a  definite 
type  and  limited  duration,  and  would  terminate  favorably  with 
less  medicine ;  provided,  however,  the  patient  have  the  advantages 
of  pure  air,  suitable  diet,  and  proper  management.  Many  medi- 
cal men  are  compelled  to  swerve  from  the  line  of  their  own  con- 
victions merely  to  satisfy  their  employers.     This  should  not  be 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  181 

If  a  man  employs  a  physician,  (quacks  arc  not  here  considered,) 
he  should  have  unbounded  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  former 
to  treat  the  case.  If  any  thing  occur  to  lessen  that  confidence,  let 
the  attendant  be  discharged  immediately.  The  employer  has  no 
right  to  dictate  how  or  in  what  way  his  horse  shall  be  treated  when 
he  abandons  him  to  scientific  men.  The  science  of  medicine  is 
never  a  "  God-send."  No  man  is  thus  favored.  It  is  the  result 
of  diligent  application  and  study,  in  and  out  of  the  dissecting-room, 
and  the  legitimate  student  of  medicine  is  a  person  entitled  to  the 
full  confidence  of  reasonable  men  for  its  legitimate  practice. 
Therefore,  we  contend  that  the  qualifications  of  a  veterinary  sur- 
geon should  never  be  estimated  in  ratio  to  the  quantity  of  drugs 
administered,  nor  the  length  of  his  newly-invented  syringe,  nor 
by  the  number  of  instruments  contained  in  his  pocket-case;  but 
by  ins  works  let  him  be  judged. 

There  is  one  practice,  prevalent  among  some  horsemen,  which 
we  very  much  deplore ;  that  is,  the  drenching  of  sick  animals  with 
gin,  pepper,  and  molasses.  This  is  a  universal  stable  panacea  in 
certain  quarters,  and  is  often  the  cause  of  much  pain  and  annoy- 
ance to  the  animal,  and  more  frequently  of  an  aggravated  form 
of  disease.  Gin,  or  the  fire-water  sold  under  that  name,  is  not 
always  to  be  procured  pure.  A  great  deal  of  it  appears  to  us  to 
be  composed  of  spirits  of  turpentine,  new  rum,  and  spirits  of  juniper, 
which,  of  course,  in  certain  cases,  excites  inflammatory  action.  We 
have  seen  a  horse's  mouth  in  a  most  shocking  condition — the  in- 
terior surfaces  almost  completely  denuded — after  a  drench  of  the 
same;  consequently,  in  cases  of  inflammation  of  the  stomach  or 
bowels,  (which  the  stable  oracles  are  apt  to  mistake  for  colic,  or 
"  bots,"  as  they  term  it,)  the  remedy  (poison)  is  certainly  objection- 
able, because  it  not  only  operates  unfavorably  on  the  horse  by  ag- 
gravating the  disease,  and  sometimes  changing  a  simple  into  a  grave 
one,  but  much  valuable  time  is  lost,  in  not  sending  for  a  competent 
person  to  treat  the  case.  Besides,  if  a  medical  man  be  called  on 
after  the  animal  has  been  improperly  treated,  he  then  has  two 
things  to  contend  against:  a  medicinal  disease  and  the  original 
one;  and  the  former  is  sometimes  more  difficult  to  control  than 
the  latter ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  some  medical  men,  ourselves 
included,  refuse  to  take  charge  of  what  we  term  a  second-hand 
<*ase. 

The  above  case  illustrates  our  argument      The  remedies  were 


182  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

not  adapted  to  the  emergency.  Even  the  simple  artHe  moiassca> 
was  objectionable,  because  it  is  an  acid.  The  case  required  alka- 
lies, in  the  form  of  ammonia  or  chloride  of  lime.  Gin  was  ob- 
jectionable, because  it  is  an  excitant  of  the  brain  and  nervous 
system,  when,  instead  of  the  brain,  the  stomach  ought  to  have 
been  stimulated.  Niter,  which  was  given,  is  an  agent  that  in- 
creases urinary  discharges  only,  and,  therefore,  was  not  needed. 
The  trouble  was  in  the  stomach — to  arouse  its  function  and  con- 
dense the  gas  which  distended  the  same.  Alkalies  and  tonica 
should  have  been  administered,  followed  by  such  other  treatment 
as  the  nature  of  the  case  demanded.  We  look  upon  this  gin  and 
molasses  treatment  as  decidedly  unprofitable  to  owners  of  live 
stock.  It  savors  too  much  of  our  grandmothers'  castor-oil  prac- 
tice, which  often  proves  more  heroic  than  salutary,  does  more 
harm  than  good,  and,  at  the  present  day,  is  decidedly  unpopular. 
Our  advice  to  horse-owners,  therefore,  is,  if  you  have  a  sick 
animal,  and  can  not  comprehend  the  nature  of  the  disease,  never 
attempt  .to  prescribe  for  him,  but  call  in  the  aid  of  a  professional 
man.  We  give  this  advice  under  the  conviction  that  domestic 
animals  are  subject  to  many  of  the  diseases  that  afflict  our  race  \, 
that  the  treatment  should  be  somewhat  analagous,  and  the  tact 
and  skill  not  inferior,  but  superior,  to  that  of  the  human  practi- 
tioner. 

Gorged,  or  Over-distended  Stomach, 

(Commonly  called  "Grain  Founder.") 

Goiged  stomach  is  usually  the  result  of  overfeeding,  by  which 
means  the  stomach  becomes  overtaxed  in  its  function,  or  over- 
burdened in  its  capacity;  so  that,  in  the  first  place,  digestion  is 
partially  or  totally  suspended ;  and,  secondly,  the  stomach,  being 
distended  beyond  its  physiological  capacity,  can  not  perform  the 
mechanical  action,  viz. :  contraction  and  expansion,  so  necessary 
for  the  physiological  process  of  digestion.  The  act  of  digestion  is 
consummated  through  the  aid  of  Nature's  chemistry,  by  means  of 
the  salivial  fluids,  bile  and  pancreatic  juice.  These  are  the  solvents 
of  all  the  digestible  food.  This  chemical  action  receives  much  aid 
in  the  mechanical  action  of  the  muscular  fibers  of  the  stomach, 
which,  by  alternate  contractions  and  expansions,  keep  not  only  the 
stomach  in  motion,  but  also  its  contents,  and  thus  the  food  is  di- 
gested. As  regards  overfeeding,  however,  it  may  be  proper  to 
remark,  lest  the  groom  or  feedei  take  offense,  that  an  animal  may 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  183 

oo  regularly  fed  from  meal  to  meal  (not  carelessly  overfed),  yet 
the  stomach,  being  disordered,  does  not  digest  the  usual  meal.  A 
portion  of  it  is  "  left  over,"  as  the  saying  is,  and  thus  gradually 
accumulates  in  that  organ,  until  over-distension,  with  its  conse- 
qii&nces,  commands  our  attention.  The  reader  must  also  bear  in 
mind  that  horses  sometimes  free  themselves  from  the  halter  at 
night,  or  when  the  groom  is  absent,  and  voluntarily  gorge  them- 
selves ;  therefore  the  person  who  has  charge  of  and  feeds  the  sub- 
ject is  not  always  at  fault.  When  engorgement  of  the -stomach 
occurs,  and  is  associated  with  flatulency,  the  sufferings  are  doubly 
severe,  because  then  the  intestines  are  also  the  seat  of  distension, 
and  the  pain  from  that  alone  is  sometimes  terrific. 

The  following  case,  which  lately  occurred  in  the  author's  prac- 
tice, fully  illustrates  the  condition  just  alluded  to.  The  subject 
was  a  bay  gelding,  aged  about  seven  years,  the  owner  of  which  in- 
formed me  that  the  animal  had,  in  the  early  part  of  the  morning, 
broken  loose  from  his  stall,  and  immediately  commenced  a  des- 
perate attack  on  a  bag  of  oats,  which  happened  to  be  within  reach. 
The  horse  was  known  as  a  ravenous  feeder,  and  the  probability  is 
that  he  did  not  spare  the  oats,  but  took  a  pretty  large  dose,  so  as 
to  over-distend  his  stomach.  The  services  of  the  animal  being  re- 
quired, a  few  hours  afterward  he  was  hitched  up.  He  soon,  how- 
ever, showed  symptoms  of  distress,  attempted  to  lie  down,  and 
finally  got  into  a  profuse  perspiration.  Shortly  after  this,  my 
attention  was  called  to  him.  I  found  the  patient  in  great  distress — 
his  head  pendulous;  breathing,  much  embarrassed;  pulse,  very 
rapid ;  body,  bedewed  with  a  chilly  perspiration ;  legs  and  ears, 
cold ;  continual  eructations  of  gas ;  at  the  same,  time  efforts  to 
vomit,  which  brought  away  nothing  more  than  salival  secretion, 
which,  however,  was  quite  profuse.  The  patient  rolled  and  tum- 
bled about  considerably,  and  would  occasionally  stand  up  for  a  few 
seconds  at  a  time. 

Treatment. — It  appeared  that  the  indications,  in  view  of  relief, 
»vere  to  arouse  the  action  of  the  stomach,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
arrest  fermentation.  I  was  under  the  impression  that  the  contents 
of  the  gorged  stomach  could  only  be  got  rid  of  in  the  ordinary  way, 
viz. :  by  digestion.  I  am  aware  that  it  is  customary  to  give  drastic 
cathartics,  in  view  of  getting  rid  of  the  contents  of  the  stomach  - 
ret  I  would  not  advise  the  reader  to  do  this,  for  the  horse  may  die 
■»■  *v>  medicine  operates.    The  following  drench  was  administered : 


1 84  DAI'D'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGER* 


No.  20    Fluid  extract  of  ginger 1  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  golden  seal 2  oz. 

Hyposulphite  of  soda 2  drachms. 

Water 4  oz. 

After  the  exhibition  of  the  above,  I  threw  into  the  rectum  a 
couple  of  qwarts  of  soap-suds,  to  which  was  added  a  handful  of 
salt.  In  the  course  of  about  an  hour  the  animal  api  eared  to  be 
somewhat  relieved,  and  passed  a  large  quantity  of  cats,  whole. 
I  repeated  the  dose ;  also  the  enema.  The  patient  very  soon  after- 
ward passed  a  large  quantity  of  excrement,  mixed  with  oats,  and 
so  rapidly  improved  that  I  left  him,  and  did  not  see  him  until  the 
next  morning,  when  he  appeared  to  have  entirely  recovered. 
With  the  exception  of  a  bran-mash  or  two,  the  above  comprises 
the  whole  of  the  treatment. 

It  was  lucky  for  the  horse  as  well  as  the  parties  concerned  that 
the  animal  did  not  get  corn  instead  of  oats ;  for  the  same  quantity 
of  corn  would  have  surely  caused  death,  from  the  fact  that  when  this 
article  of  fodder  is  submitted,  within  the  stomach,  to  the  action  of 
heat  and  moisture,  it  increases  in  bulk  in  a  ratio  of  about  five  to 
one,  and  the  usual  result  is  rupture  of  the  stomach.  Still,  should 
any  of  our  readers  be  called  upon  to  treat  a  case  of  the  latter  kind, 
there  is  no  other  plan  of  treatment  with  which  1  am  acquainted 
that  will  be  likely  to  succeed  in  saving  the  animal  than  the  one 
here  indicated. 

Another  case. — The  patient,  a  gray  gelding,  aged  about  eight 
years,  the  property  of  Messrs.  Wright  &  Bros.,  of  Chicago,  had 
performed  an  ordinary  day's  work  without  showing  any  symptoms 
of  ill-health.  About  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  he  was  unhar- 
nessed and  put  up  for  the  night.  In  a  few  minutes  it  was  noticed 
that  he  began  to  bloat,  and  that  the  abdomen  increased  in  size  very 
rapidly.  A  messenger  was  immediately  dispatched  for  me.  On 
arriving  at  the  stable,  I  found  the  animal  in  a  very  dangerous  con- 
dition. The  abdomen  was  enormously  distended,  and  an  eructation 
of  gas  from  the  stomach,  by  the  mouth,  was  continually  occurring. 
The  respirations  were  laborious  and  accelerated,  and  very  much 
quickened  ;  pulse,  very  indistinct ;  extremities  and  surface  of  the 
body,  quite  chilly ;  rectum,  protruding ;  and  the  animal  was  very 
uneasy,  and  appeared  to  suffer  much  pain.  Occasionally  he  would 
get  down  and  make  desperate  efforts  to  roll  on  his  back,  yet  ha 
did  not  succeed,  for  he  was  round  as  a  barrel  :  and  when  he  <.    old 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  18 


c 


scarcely  stand  aloue,  in  fact,  required  the  services  of  three  men  to 
steady  him,  he  could  walk,  and  seemed  most  at  ease  when  kept 
in  motion.     I  commenced  immediately  to  inject  warm  soap-suds 
into  the  rectum ;  but  so  soon  as  the  fluid  entered  the  same  it  was 
immediately  ejected,  there  being  no  room  for  it  within,  in  conse- 
quence of.  the  distension  of  the  walls  of  the  intestines,  which 
pressed  on  the  rectum.     I  next  attempted  to  administer  a  colic 
drench,  composed  of  ginger,  golden  seal,  and  hyposulphite  of  soda, 
but  did  not  succeed  in  getting  much  of  it  down;  for  as  soon  as  the 
fluid  entered  the  aesophagus,  it  was  met  by  a  volume  of  eructating 
gas,  which  brought  the  fluid  back  by  way  of  the  mouth  and  nos- 
trils.    I   learned,  however,  that,  previous   to  my  arrival,  Mr. 
Smith,  the  foreman,  had  succeeded  in  drenching  the  patient  with 
a  full  dose  of  the  colic  mixture.     This  probably  had  the  effect  of 
limiting  the  generation  of  gas ;  otherwise  the  animal  might  have 
died  ere  my  arrival.     The  case  now  appeared  almost  hopeless ;  so 
I  procured  a  trocar  and  canula,  and  plunged  them  through  the 
flank  into  the  large  intestines.     (See  puncture  of  the  intestines). 
On  withdrawing  the  cutting  instrument,  a  steady  volume  of  gas 
issued  through  the  canula  for  a  period  of  ten  minutes.     The  relief 
was  immediate.     I  next  gave  a  dose  of  colic  drench,  Tind  left  the 
animal  in  charge  of  the  owner  for  the  night.     Early  next  morn- 
ing I  visited  the  animal,  and  found  that  he  was  all  right.     He  was 
fed  lightly  for  a  few  days,  and,  without  any  other  medical  treat- 
ment, was  again  put  to  work. 

The  dangers  tc  be  apprehended  in  cases  of  this  character  are 
either  rupture  of  the  intestines  or  diaphragm.  In  either  case, 
death  is  sure  and  certain.  Sometimes,  however,  neither  of  these 
ruptures  occur;  then  the  distended  intestines  exert  such  pressu>.i 
on  the  diaphragm  and  organs  of  respiration  that  the  animal  dies 
of  suffocation  and  loss  of  pulse.  When,  therefore,  it  becomes  im- 
possible for  the  patient  to  swallow  medicine,  in  a  case  of  this  char- 
acter, recourse  must  be  had  to  the  trocar  and  canula,  in  view  of 
liberating  the  imprisoned  gas.  The  lack  of  a  little  knowledge  on 
this  subject  has  been  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  very  many  valuable 
horses. 


186  iJADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Meteorization   or  Sudden  Distension  of  the 

Intestines. 

Meteorization  is  the  name  given  to  a  disease  known  as  bloat  or 
hoven  in  cattle.  When  it  appears  in  a  horse,  it  receives  the  above 
jame,  or  else  is  termed  acute  tympanitis.  This  form  of  windy  or 
tympanitic  distension  is  always  sudden  in  its  attack;  animals  ap- 
parently in  the  very  best  of  health  all  at  once  show  symptoms  of 
enormous  distension  of  the  abdomen,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
moments,  their  lives  may  be  said  to  be  in  peril.  The  distension 
of  the  stomach  and  intestines  is  due  to  the  presence  of  an  immense 
volume  of  gas— probably  carbureted  hydrogen — which  augments 
either  by  spontaneous  generation,  or  in  consequence  of  the  food 
running  into  fermentation  instead  of  being  digested. 

Cause. — As  regards  the  cause  of  this  malady,  we  may,  with 
safety,  assert  that  it  is  the  result  of  a  temporary  derangement  of 
either  the  digestive  function  or  the  organs  of  digestion ;  and  such 
condition  is  inaugurated  by  overtaxing  that  function,  or  those 
organs  which  carry  it  on,  either  by  feeding  indigestible  food,  or  in 
feeding  with  too  liberal  a  hand.  I  have  noticed  that  many  ani- 
mals have  periodical  attacks  of  this  malady.  Such  are  said  to  be 
voracious  feeders.  Their  abdomen  is  unusually  large,  and  out  of 
proportion  to  other  parts  of  the  body ;  hence,  in  so  far  as  their 
conformation  is  concerned,  they  may  be  said  to  be  predisposed; 
yet  the  disease  sometimes  occurs  accidentally,  and  without  the 
intervention  of  any  hereditary  tendency. 

Physiologists  contend  that  very  many  diseases  which  afflict 
horses  are  due  to  hereditary  tendencies.  For  example,  diarrhea 
and  colic  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  hereditary,  inasmuch  as  they  are 
very  prone  to  attack  animals  of  particular  form  and  constitution, 
as  those  with  narrow  loins,  large  sides,  and  of  what  is  generally 
termed  a  "  washy  "  appearance.  If  such  animals  be  overworked, 
especially  ^oon  after  being  fed,  if  their  food  be  suddenly  changed, 
or  if  they  be  allowed  an  unusual  quantity  of  water,  they  are  almost 
certain  to  be  attacked  by  purging  or  tympanitis.  The  tendency  of 
these  diseases  appears,  in  such  cases,  to  depend  on  a  want  of  adjust- 
ment among  the  different  organs  of  the  body — a  w7ant  of  balance 
among  the  functions  of  digestion,  circulation,  and  respiration. 

The  following  case  will  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  symp- 
toms and  treatment  of  this  malady  : 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  187 

History  of  the  Case. — The  horse  had  performed  his  usual  daily 
labor,  without  any  fault-finding  on  the  part  of  his  driver,  when, 
all  at  once,  he  commenced  to  bloat,  appeared  uneasy,  and,  by 
his  actions,  demonstrated  very  conclusively  that  he  needed  some 
assistance.  On  examination,  I  found  that  the  abdomen  was  dis- 
tended to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  walls  of  the  abdomen  were 
rigid  as  a  plank,  and  the  respirations,  in  consequence  of  the  great 
pressure  on  the  diaphragm  and  lungs,  were  very  laborious  and 
much  accelerated,  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  per  minute. 
The  pulse  was  thready  and  indistinct;  the  tongue,  livid;  eyes, 
glassy  and  protruding ;  surface  of  the  body,  bedewed  with  a  cold, 
clammy  perspiration ;  paralysis  ot  the  optic  nerve  had  set  in,  and 
the  animal  was  "blind  as  a  bat;"  in  fact,  he  was  dead  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes.  This  was  not  the  worst  feature  of  the  case. 
He  was  continually  vomiting  from  both  nostrils,  and,  as  the  story 
goes,  "  a  horse  that  vomits  surely  dies."  Occasionally  the  animal 
would  fall  on  the  ground  with  violence,  and  then  assume  a  vari- 
ety of  positions,  in  view  of  finding  some  relief,  but,  alas!  to  no 
purpose.  His  agony  was  intense,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no  re- 
lief for  him,  unless  by  a  surgical  operation.  Medicine  was  out 
of  the  question ;  the  animal  had  lost  the  power  of  swallowing,  and 
an  attempt  to  administer  a  drench  would  have  choked  him  to 
death;  so  I  selected  the  most  salient  or  tympanitic  spot  on  the 
left  flank,  and  then  sent  a  trocar  and  canula  through  the  walls  of 
the  abdomen  into  the  large  intestine.  So  soon  as  I  had  withdrawn 
the  trocar,  the  gas  escaped  very  rapidly  through  the  tube,  making 
a  noise  like  a  steam-whistle.  The  animal  obtained  almost  imme- 
diate relief,  and  the  bad  symptoms  rapidly  subsided,  so  that  I  was 
enabled  to  give  a  colic  drench.  This  operated  to  prevent  fer- 
mentation, and  gave  tone  to  the  digestive  organs.  Two  subse- 
quent, drenches,  of  four  ounces  each,  were  given,  and  at  the  end 
of  twenty-four  hours  the  animal  was  taken  home.  The  slight 
wound  made  through  the  walls  of  the  abdomen  into  the  intestine 
healed  readily,  so  that  I  had  no  trouble  with  that;  and,  to  con- 
clude, I  would  inform  the  reader  that  puncture  of  the  intestine  is 
ti  e  only  rational  plan  of  treatment  in  a  case  of  this  character. 

Colic  drench  is  made  up  of  the  following  ingredients : 

No.  21.  Fluid  extract  of  ginger 2  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  golden  seal 2  oz. 

Hyposulphite  of  soda 1   oz. 


188  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Tympanitis  (Belly  filled  with  Gas). 

Case,  in  Illustration. — At  midnight,  June  16,  1865, 1  was  called 
upon  to  visit  a  horse  afflicted  with  this  disease.  On  arriving  at 
the  stable,  I  found  the  animal  on  the  floor,  apparently  in  great 
agony.  The  abdomen  was  distended  with  gas  ,o  an  immense 
capacity ;  the  pulse  was  feeble ;  respirations  accelerated,  and  very 
laborious ;  body  was  bedewed  with  a  cold,  clammy  perspiration ; 
tips  of  the  ears,  cold;  extremities  in  a  similar  condition.  Eruc- 
tations of  gas  from  the  stomach,  by  the  way  of  the  mouth,  were 
constantly  occurring,  indicating  that  the  stomach,  as  well  as  the 
intestines,  were  occupied  with  gas.  The  animal  had  bruised  him 
self  very  badly  in  struggling,  and  extensive  abrasion  of  the  skin 
had  taken  place  in  various  parts  of  the  body.  I  was  informed 
that  the  horse  had  just  returned  from  a  very  long  journey,  and 
had  not  tasted  food  for  sixteen  hours.  On  arriving  at  the  stable, 
where  I  found  him,  a  bountiful  supply  was  placed  before  him.  In 
his  weak  and  exhausted  condition,  this  was  about  the  worst  that 
could  have  been  done ;  for  the  stomach  and  digestive  organs, 
sharing,  either  by  direct  sympathy  or  otherwise,  with  other  parts 
of  the  body,  were  not  in  a  fit  state,  until  a  period  of  rest  had  oc- 
curred, to  digest  even  a  small  quantity  of  food.  The  cravings  of 
hunger,  or  a  morbid  appetite,  induced  the  animal  to  devour  most, 
if  not  all,  of  what  was  placed  before  him.  The  consequence  was, 
the  food,  instead  of  undergoing  digestion,  ran  into  fermentation, 
and  generated  gas  known  as  sulphureted  hydrogen. 

Treatment. — The  animal  was  urged  to  rise.  I  then  gave  him  a 
colic  drench,  composed  of  two  ounces  of  fluid  extract  of  golden 
seal,  and  one  ounce  of  hyposulphite  of  soda.  The  surface  of  the 
body  was  then  rubbed  with  wisps  of  straw,  which  produced  some 
reaction,  so  that  the  surface  of  the  patient  became  warmer.  Oc- 
casionally the  animal  was  led  about  for  a  short  distance,  and  then 
was  led  back  again  to  the  stall,  where  he  would  get  down,  and  roll 
and  tumble  about,  as  if  in  great  agony.  I  administered  enemas 
of  soap-suds  and  salt,  but  did  not  succeed  in  bringing  away  either 
feces  or  gas,  and  all  the  gas  which  escaped  from  the  alimentary 
cavity  passed  by  the  mouth.  Two  hours  after  the  administration 
of  the  first  dose,  finding  that  the  animal  was  still  unrelieved,  I 
repeated  the  dose  of  colic  drench,  and  threw  soap-suds  into  the 
refituru.     Soon  after  some  feces  were  v.. 'led,  and  with  them  quan- 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  18U 

lities  of  gas.  A  slight  improvement  was  soon  perceptible,  yet  it 
appeared  that  the  fermentation  was  still  going  on,  as  the  abdomen 
did  not  decrease  in  volume ;  so  I  gave  two  ounces  of  hyposulphite 
of  soda,  in  view  of  arresting  the  generation  of  gas.  This  had  the 
desired  effect ;  for,  as  the  gas  was  liberated,  the  abdomen  decreased 
in  size.  It  was  not,  however,  until  a  lapse  often  hours  from  the 
attack  that  the  patient  obtained  complete  relief  from  his  suffer- 
ings. This  case  only  differs  from  meteorization  in  the  sudden- 
ness of  the  attack  of  the  former. 

Persons  who  attempt  to  treat  cases  of  this  character  must  exer- 
cise due  patience.  The  animal  must  suffer  a  certain  length  of 
time,  notwithstanding  the  best-selected  remedies  are  exhibited. 
In  other  words,  the  reader  is  advised  not  to  be  in  too  much  of  a 
hurry  in  getting  the  animal  on  its  legs  again.  Take  good  care 
of  him ;  give  him  plenty  of  bedding  to  rest  or  roll  on ;  in  short, 
uur«e  him  as  if  he  were  a  child,  and,  above  all,  do  not  give  him 
too  much  medicine. 

Flatulent  Colic. 

This  is  a  disease  of  very  frequent  occurrence  among  horses.  It 
is  known  by  a  distension  of  the  intestines  and  abdomen,  with 
flatus  or  gas.  In  the  early  stage,  no  perceptible  abdominal  dis- 
tension occurs,  yet  it  very  soon  manifests  itself.  One  way  of  sat- 
isfying ourselves  of  the  presence  of  flatus  is,  to  apply  the  ear  to 
the  abdominal  region,  within  which  a  sort  of  active  rumbling  is 
heard,  often  accompanied  by  a  tinkling  or  metallic  sound.  But 
while  making  our  examination,  we  may,  perhaps,  perceive  that 
the  horse  passes  flatus  by  the  anus,  or  eructates  it  from  the  stom- 
ach by  the  mouth.  In  either  case,  our  doubts,  if  we  have  any, 
are  set  at  rest.  This  feature  of  flatulency,  accompanied  by  others 
which  will  be  alluded  to,  complete  the  chain  of  evidence. 

In  some  cases  the  gas  accumulates  in  the  large  intestines  until 
the  abdomen  resembles,  in  size,  that  of  an  ox  when  "  hoven."  It 
is  very  distressing  to  witness  the  sufferings  of  an  animal  in  this 
condition ;  and  when  the  intestines  are  so  enormously  distended 
as  to  threaten  rupture,  the  only  chance  of  relief  is  to  send  a  trocar 
and  canula  through  the  walls  of  the  abdomen,  into  some  portion 
of  the  distended  intestine,  and  thus  liberate  the  gas. 

Symptoms-  -It  may  be  well  to  boar  in  mind  that  flatulent  cob'o 


190  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AJNU  SURGERY. 

is  always  sudden  in  its  attack,  and  some  horses  are  liable  to  it  undei 
every  variety  of  circumstance — in  the  stable,  on  the  road,  or  at 
grass.  At  the  commencement  of  the  attack  the  animal  becomes 
uneasy  from  pain,  and  commences  to  paw  with  his  fore-feet.  Hv 
soon  gets  down,  and,  if  space  be  sufficient,  he  commences  to  roll 
from  side  to  side,  often  remaining  for  a  few  moments  on  his  bark, 
in  which  position  he  seems  to  obtain  temporary  relief.  Sometimes, 
s  quick  as  thought,  he  is  on  his  legs  again,  gives  the  body  a  shake, 
and  then  anxiously  regards  his  flanks,  by  turning  his  head  toward 
one  side  or  the  other,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Here  is  the  seat  of  my 
trouble."  Soon  he  is  down  again  on  the  floor,  rolling  and  tum- 
bling about.  Now  and  then  the  animal  remains  quiet  for  a  time, 
in  a  sort  of  crouching  attitude,  the  limbs  being  gathered  beneath 
the  body,  until  the  distension  is  so  great,  or  the  pains  so  severe, 
that  he  must  shift  his  position,  when  again  we  find  him  rolling, 
or  standing  with  his  hind  extremities  stretched  backward,  and  the 
fore  ones  advanced,  thus  representing  the  attitude  of  a  horse  in  the 
act  of  urinating.  Supposing,  at  this  period,  that  there  be  no  flat- 
ulency present,  yet  the  respirations  are  hurried,  the  pulse  wiry, 
the  eyes  glassy,  and  the  patient  excessively  nervous  and  uncon- 
trollable, the  case  is  then  of  a  spasmodic  character  (see  Spasmodic 
Colic) ;  but  should  the  animal  pass  flatus,  or  the  abdomen  increase 
in  volume,  the  case  is  unmistakable — it  is  flatulent  colic. 

Causes. — I  shall  now  oifer  some  brief  remarks  on  the  cause  of 
colic.  If  we  could  only  stretch  the  imagination,  so  as  to  take  for 
granted  all  the  popular  causes  assigned  for  the  production  of  colic, 
then  their  name  would  be  legion.  Some  writers  inform  us  that  a 
drink  of  cold  water,  when  the  animal  is  heated,  is  the  most  potent 
cause.  Then  we  must  infer  that  the  horses  ridden  by  the  Russian 
Cossacs,  in  a  country  where  cold  water  is  abundant,  should  be  the 
subjects  of  colic;  but  the  very  reverse  is  the  case.  The  disease  is 
almost  unknown  among  them. 

Previous  to  the  introduction  of  Cochituate  water  into  the  city 
of  Boston,  colic  occurring  among  horses  was  partially  attributed 
to  the  cold  well-water  then  used;  but  now  they  all  drink  the 
former,  yet  colic  is  just  as  prevalent,  and,  indeed,  more  so,  than 
at  the  time  referred  to. 

There  are  no  people  that  pay  more  attention  to  the  watering  of 
horses  than  the  English  grooms,  and  it  is  customary,  when  a  horse 
is  taken  from  his  home  to  a  distant  race-course,  to  remain  away 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  191 

only  a  few  days,  to  have  sufficient  water  transported  with  him 
to  last  during  lis  stay,  such  a  dread  have  English  grooms  of 
"strange  water,"  as  they  term  it.  Now,  it  is  a  notorious  fact  that 
English  horses  are  more  subject  to  bowel  affections  than  those  of 
this  country.  From  this  circumstance,  I  infer  that  bowel  affec- 
tions are  hereditary,  or,  in  othei  words,  a  predisposition  to  such 
is  transmitted  from  parents  to  offspring. 

I  can  well  remember  the  time  when  physicians  would  not  allow 
&  fever  patient  to  taste  water ;  but  now  they  act  more  in  accord- 
ance with  reason,  and  allow  the  sick  just  what  they  crave  for.  It 
is  not  good  polic) ,  however,  to  allow  a  horse,  when  performing  a 
journey,  a  bountiful  supply  of  water,  because  active  exercise  some- 
what suspends  the  digestive  function,  and,  therefore,  the  water 
may  remain  in  a  portion  of  the  large  intestines  without  undergo- 
ing the  usual  transformation.*  It  then  occupies  space,  and,  being 
weighty,  may,  in  the  rapid  movements  of  the  animal,  operate  un- 
favorably in  various  ways,  more  particularly  on  the  gut  itself,  it 
being  pendulous  from  the  spine. 

A  horse  is  often  brought  into  the  stable  in  a  state  of  profuse  per- 
spiration, and,  of  course,  is  somewhat  exhausted.  Now,  it  would 
be  decidedly  wrong  to  either  feed  or  water  him  until  he  is  rubbed 
dry,  and  has  rested  awhile ;  for,  at  such  times  food  is  just  as  likely, 
and,  I  think,  more  so  than  water,  to  operate  unfavorably  on  an 
exhausted  animal.  Many  horses,  however,  even  when  in  this 
exhausted  state,  will  fill  their  stomachs  with  food  and  water,  and 
yet  enjoy  immunity  from  colic.  Therefore,  should  colic  occur  in  a 
horse  after  he  has  had  a  hard  drive,  he  having  partaken  of  a 
draught  of  water,  it  is  rather  difficult  to  decide  which  of  the  two, 
if  either,  was  the  cause  of  the  malady.  One  fact  is  certain,  and 
that  is,  the  stomach  is  deranged,  and,  therefore,  fermentation  pre- 
cedes digestion ;  hence  the  gas. 

Notwithstanding  our  best  efforts  to  prevent  it,  colic  will  occa- 
sionally occur.  Green  grass,  clover,  carrots,  and  turnips  are  said 
to  occasion  it.  Then,  again,  it  appears  in  stables,  where  nothing 
but  corn,  oats,  and  hay  are  used.  One  horse  is  attacked  imme- 
diately after  a  draught  of  cold  water;  another  has  the  chill  taken 
off  his,  yet  he  is  often  found  in  the  same  predicament.  Warm 
water  is  the  most  insipid  and  nauseating  drink  that  you  can  offer 
a  horse;  and  many  would  prefer  to  continue  thirsty  for  some  time 
ere  thev  would  imbibe  it. 


192  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

It  is  well  known  to  physiologists,  and  I  presume  the  reader 
must  have  observed,  that  both  men  and  animals  inherit  peculiar 
idiosyncrasies.  Each  are  predisposed,  either  through  parental  de- 
fect, temperament,  or  conformation,  to  certain  forms  of  disease. 
This  peculiarity,  or  predisposition,  is  said  to  lurk  in  breed,  and 
those  conversant  with  the  horse's  structure  and  temperament  can 
readily  determine  whether  he  be  predisposed  to  certain  forms  of 
disease  or  not.  For  example,  a  horse  predisposed  to  flatulent  colic 
is  often  observed  to  have  a  capacious  belly,  voracious  appetite,  and 
does  not  properly  masticate  his  food ;  and  he  is  not  over-particular 
as  to  the  kind  of  diet,  for  we  often  find  him  devouring,  with  ap- 
parent relish,  the  filthy  straw  that  has  served  as  bedding.  Often 
he  proves  to  be  a  "  crib-biter."  (Cribbing  is  a  defect,  either  in- 
herited or  acquired.)  Ordinarily  the  salivial  fluid  is  augmented, 
yet  it  does  not  look  healthy ;  't  is  more  like  soap-suds,  and  of  a 
dirty  color.  The  tongue  is  also  foul,  and  the  breath  somewhat 
fetid.  One  or  more  of  these  peculiarities  generally  predominate 
in  colicky  horses.  I  contend,  therefore,  that  some  horses  are  pre- 
disposed to  colic ;  and  this  explains  the  reason  why  the  ordinary 
exciting  causes,  such  as  cold  water,  exposure,  fatigue,  irritating 
food  and  medicine,  are  operative  on  the  system  of  one  horse  and 
inoperative  on  that  of  another.  Colic  is  the  heritage  of  some  of 
the  best  horses  in  the  world. 

Now,  should  the  question  be  asked,  What  are  the  causes  of  colic? 
I  answer,  It  is  occasioned  by  predisposing,  direct  and  indirect 
causes,  operating  conjointly  or  not.  In  all  cases  of  colic,  the 
function  of  the  stomach  is  either  disturbed  or  partly  suspended. 

Treatment. — The  principal  objects  in  the  cure  of  colic  are,  to 
restore  the  tone  of  the  stomach,  by  means  of  stimulants  and  tonics, 
and  to  arrest  fermentation  and  absorb  the  gases  of  the  alimentary 
canal.  I  shall  not  undertake  to  say  that  the  remedies  here  alluded 
to  are  the  very  best ;  but,  as  I  have  met  with  remarkable  success 
in  their  use,  I  can  safely  recommend  them.  1  have  an  impression 
that  when  a  horse  is  the  subject  of  colic,  he  requires  to  be  treated 
just  as  any  intelligent  physician  would  treat  one  of  us.  There 
is  no  necessity  to  convert  his  stomach  into  a  "  slop-shop."  The 
patient  should  be  treated  in  a  rational  manner,  by  the  same  means 
and  with  the  same  skill  as  if  one  of  our  race  were  concerned. 

I  do  not  like  to  see  an  animal  trotted  up  one  street  and  down 
another,  followed  by  a  biped,  whip  in  hand,  and  a  crowd  of  idlers 


DISEASES  OF  THE   DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  I  U3 

tfhen  he  is  the  subject  of  excruciating  abdominal  pains,  and  the 
sweat  is  pouring  off  him  like  rain,  from  sheer  agony.  The  cus- 
tom is  decidedly  wrong.  Our  reasoning  faculties  confirm  this 
opinion ;  and  what  reason  teaches,  man  should  endeavor  to  put  in 
practice.  No  practitioner  of  human  medicine  dare  advise  such  a 
course  as  compelling  a  man  to  hop  off  a  bed  of  sickness,  and  start 
on. a  fast  trot  up  and  down  stairs;  for,  should  he  so  advise,  he 
would  very  soon  entitle  himself  to  a  ticket  ot  leave,  Should, 
however,  the  attack  be  slight,  a  little  walking  exercise  does  no 
harm ;  and  if  the  patient  appears  disposed  to  roll,  it  were  better 
to  let  him  do  so — on  the  ground,  rather  than  in  a  narrow  stall. 

My  usual  directions  are :  Give  the  patient  a  wide  stall  and 
plenty  of  bedding.  Let  him  lie  down,  rise,  and  tumble  about 
just  as  much  as  he  pleases,  only  watch  and  see  that  no  accident 
happens  to  the  animal.  The  colic  drench  used  by  the  author, 
during  the  past  ten  years,  is  composed  of  the  following  : 

No.  22.  Fluid  extract  of  Jamaica  ginger 2  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  golden  seal 1  oz. 

Powdered  hyposulphite  of  soda 1  oz. 

Water 4  oz. 

Dissolve  the  hyposulphite  of  soda  in  the  water,  then  add  the 
other  ingredients  to  it.     The  dose  may  be  repeated,  if  necessary. 

A  good  wisp  of  straw,  vigorously  applied  to  the  belly  and  flanks, 
and  also  to  the  limbs,  may  do  some  good,  because  we  thus  preserve 
the  equilibrium  of  the  circulation.  Enemas  of  soap-suds  should 
be  administered  often,  and,  provided  the  case  be  a  curable  one, 
the  horse  will  soon  recover. 


Spasmodic  Colic. 

The  uaual  causes  of  spasmodic  colic  are,  mental  emotions,  ex- 
ternal chilliness  by  exposure,  cold  water  drank  hastily,  drastic 
cathartics,  poisons,  etc.  Spasmodic  colic  is  usually  confined  to  the 
small  intestines,  and  they  become  cramped  and  contorted.  In  this 
condition  the  patient  is  much  tortured.  The  pain  occasionally 
remits,  and  the  patient  will  appear  easy,  but  only  for  a  short  time, 
In  some  cases  the  patient  will  stamp  and  paw  almost  continually, 
and  strike  his  belly.  He  throws  himself  violently  on  the  floor, 
and  occasionally  rolls  on  his  back.  The  abdomen  is  not  distended, 
as  in  the  case  of  flatulent  colic,  but  is  rather  tucked  up,  and  the 
13 


(94  DADD'S   7ETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  STJRGERI 

abdominal  walls  are  rigidly  contracted.  In  the  commencement 
of  the  malady,  the  pulse  is  usually  hard  and  wiry,  but  varies  as 
the  disease  progresses;  and  the  same  is  true  of  the  respirations, 
viz. :  they  are  accelerated  and  laborious.  The  patient  occasionally 
suffe/s  much  pain  in  consequence  of  retention  of  urine  and  over- 
distension of  the  bladder,  which  is  the  result  of  sympathetic  spasm 
in  the  region  of  the  neck  of  the  bladder.  Such  are  the  uotahk- 
symptoms  of  spasmodic  colic. 

Treatment. — The  disease  being  of  a  spasmodic  character,  requires 
the  exhibition  of  medicines  of  an  antispasmodic  character,  such  as 
assafrtida,  lobelia,  sulphuric  ether,  and  copious  enemas  of  warm 
water,  or  an  infusion  of  lobelia.  The  latter  is  the  most  valuable 
antispasmodic  now  in  use.  Should  the  case,  however,  be  a  des- 
perate one,  I  advise  the  reader  to  follow  the  treatment  indicated 
in  the  following  case,  taken  from  my  note-book : 

On  making  an  examination  of  the  animal,  the  following  symp- 
toms were  observed:  Pulse,  very  strong  and  wiry,  averaging 
twenty  beats  above  the  natural  standard ;  membranes  of  the  mouth, 
nose,  and  eyes  very  \ascular,  or  highly  reddened;  the  surface  of 
the  body  was  bedewed,  in  patches,  with  perspiration ;  there  ap- 
peared to  be  much  rigidity  of  the  muscles,  especially  in  the  ab- 
dominal region.  All  at  once  the  animal  would  throw  himself 
violently  on  the  floor,  and  throw  his  limbs  about  in  the  most  wild 
and  reckless  manner.  He  would  assume  all  sorts  of  positions,  yet 
seemed  to  obtain  most  ease  when  flat  on  his  back ;  still,  if  closely 
approached  or  touched,  he  would  kick  and  strike  with  fury,  as  if 
he  were  intent  on  mischief.  In  short,  the  horse  cut  up  such  un- 
ties that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  approach  him ;  yet  I  finally 
succeeded  in  delivering  an  antispasmodic  drench  while  the  animal 
lay  on  his  back,  in  which  position  I  also  gave  an  enema,  composed 
af  warm  water  and  lobelia. 

The  animal  kept  growing  more  restive  and  uncontrollable,  till, 
at  last,  it  became  very  evident  that  convulsions  had  set  in.  Hie 
breathing  had  become  fearfully  laborious  and  rapid;  his  nostrils 
were  dilated  to  their  utmost  capacity;  the  sight  had  become  so 
affected,  through  temporary  paralysis  of  the  optic  ner\  e,  that  tem- 
porary blindness  had  set  in. 

There  seemed  to  be  little  hope  for  the  animal,  and,  fearing  that 
he  might  either  kill  himself  by  violence,  or  injure  those  in  attend- 
ance, I  concluded  tc  chloroform  him,  and  thus  put  a  stop  to  hia 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  196 

dangerous  performances.  He  had  had  the  best  of  us  long  enough, 
and  now  it  was  for  me  to  show  what  science  had  in  store  for  such 
otherwise  unmanageable  cases.  I  procured  a  mixture,  composed 
of  four  ounces  of  chloroform  and  the  same  quantity  of  sulphuric 
ether;  next,  a  sponge  was  tied  to  a  broom-handle,  and  covered 
with  a  towel.  Thus  we  were  enabled  to  chlorofcrm  him  at  a  safe 
distance. 

The  patient  did  not  seem  to  relish  this  mode  of  practice.  He 
fought  for  some  time,  tried  to  strike  and  kick  me,  but,  being  tem- 
porarily blind,  I  had  the  advantage  of  him.  It  was  soon  evident 
that  the  chloroform  was  beginning  to  do  its  work.  The  patient 
gradually  settled  himself  on  the  floor,  and  was  soon  completely 
etherized.  As  it  is  dangerous  to  keep  a  horse  under  the  full  effects 
of  chloroform  any  great  length  of  time,  I  now  removed  the  sponge, 
and  only  applied  it  occasionally,  slightly  saturated,  so  as  to  insure 
a  sort  of  incomplete  state  of  insensibility.  It  was  an  encouraging 
sight  to  behold  the  once  powerful  and  furious  animal  now  lying 
free  from  pain,  and  dejnived  of  the  power  of  injuring  himself  or 
those  in  attendance ;  and  it  is  also  gratifying  to  know  that  science 
ministers  to  the  wants  and  necessities  of  the  inferior  as  well  as  the 
superior  orders  of  creation. 

At  the  expiration  of  an  hour,  during  which  time  the  animal 
was .  more  or  less  under  the  ansesthetic  agent,  he  was  allowed  to 
rise.  He  gave  himself  a  few  shakes,  and  seemed  very  much  re- 
lieved and  more  tranquil.  I  now  gave  a  drench  of  spirits  of  niter 
and  infusion  of  lobelia;  administered,  also,  a  lobelia  enema,  and 
left  the  patient  to  the  care  of  his  attendants.  A  few  hours  after- 
ward I  again  visited  the  patient,  and  learned  that  he  had  a  slight 
spasir  occasionally,  for  which  I  prescribed  two  drachms  of  pow- 
dered assafetida.  I  then  introduced  the  male  catheter  into  the 
bladder,  drew  off  a  small  quantity  of  urine,  and  this  completed 
the  whole  of  the  treatment.     The  patient  recovered. 

Another  case  of  Spasmodic  Colic,  treated  by  Inhalation. — The 
subject  "w  as  a  large  and  powerful  stallion,  aged  about  eight  years, 
the  propc  rty  of  a  gentleman  residing  in  Chicago.  The  horse  wa? 
attacked  in  the  street  with  symptoms  of  acute  abdominal  pain, 
and,  in  consequence,  was  hurried  home  to  the  stable.  The  mo- 
ment he  arrived  there,  he  threw  himself  down  and  commenced 
rolling,  and  grew  excessively  uneasy  and  irritable.  In  the  course 
of  an  hour  our  attention  was  called  to  him.     He  '.ben  exhibited 


196  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

symj  toms  of  acute  abdominal  pain.  The  eyes  appeared  wild,  and: 
their  membranes  congested ;  the  nostrils  were  dilated ;  pulse,  about 
sixty ;  extremities  cold ;  body,  bedewed  with  perspiration  ;  no  tym- 
panitis, yet  the  animal  anxiously  regarded  his  flanks.  He  would 
paw  with  his  fore-feet,  and  strike  forward  in  a  most  reckless  man  • 
ner,  and  fall  down,  as  if  in  convulsions ;  then  he  would  roll  on 
his  back,  curve  his  head  to  one  side,  and,  as  quick  as  thought, 
jump  up  again. 

He  was  now  so  spiteful  and  unmanageable  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  administer  either  drench  or  ball.  "We  tried  every  meana 
to  get  something  down,  but  all  to  no  purpose;  he  was  determ- 
ined to  make  us  keep  beyond  the  reach  of  his  fore-feet  and 
mouth.  It  now  became  evident  to  us  that  the  patient  must  be 
mastered,  and,  in  this  view,  not  knowing  at  the  time  that  tin* 
agent  we  were  about  to  use  would  act  beneficially  on  the  disease, 
we  procured  three  ounces  of  chloroform,  and  the  same  quantity 
of  sulphuric  ether.  An  old  sheet  and  a  sponge  were  used  as  an 
inhaler.  Watching  an  opportunity,  when  the  horse  was  down, 
we  got  two  men  to  secure  him  there  by  the  neck.  We  then  sat- 
urated the  sponge  with  the  mixture,  and  applied  the  same  to  tho 
nostrils,  enveloping  them  with  the  folded  sheet,  leaving  an  orifice 
for  the  admission  of  air.  The  patient  struggled  violently  at  first, 
but  soon  became  quieter,  and,  in  the  course  ot  two  minutes,  trem- 
bled, breathed  deep  and  loud.  The  pupils  then  became  dilated, 
the  breathing  stertorous,  and  the  animal  was  fully  etherized. 
Having  him  completely  under  control,  we  were  not  disposed  to  let 
him  up  in  a  hurry.  The  sponge,  however,  was  removed,  and  so 
soon  as  he  showed  signs  of  partial  consciousness,  it  was  again  re- 
plenished with  ether,  and  applied. 

Supposing  that  the  case  might  be  running  on  to  intussusception, 
or  entanglement  of  the  bowels,  we  thought  there  could  be  no  harm 
in  keeping  the  animal  under  the  influence  of  an  agent  that  seemed 
to  act  so  well ;  consequently  he  was  kept  under  its  influence  for 
fifty-five  minutes.  His  head  was  then  brought  toward  the  door, 
and  a  few  drops  of  cold  water  were  sprinkled  on  him.  Soon  he 
raised  his  head,  looked  bewildered,  yet  showed  no  symptoms  of 
pain  nor  uneasiness.  Shortly  afterward  he  got  on  his  legs,  but 
had  to  be  supported  by  several  men,  who  soon  rubbed  him  dry. 
He  was  then  drenched  with  laudanum,  five  drachms ;  sweet  spirits 
of  niter,  one  out  r»,     He  was  led  to  a  stall,  entirely  free  from  pain 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  19? 

partook  of  some  gruel,  and  rested  well  during  the  night.  Next 
morning  he  got  five  drachms  of  aloes  and  one  of  ginger,  in  solu- 
tion; the  bowels  responded  to  the  same,  and  four  days  after  ha 
was  at  work.  We  would  not,  however,  have  the  reader  suppose 
that  the  same  agent  shall  suit  all  cases  of  this  character;  for 
another  similar  feat  might  prove  a  failure,  and  a  third  equally  un- 
manageable. A  case  might  yield  to  the  ordinary  sedatives,  how- 
ever, provided  the  patient  could  be  induced  to  swallow  them. 

Inflammation  of  the  Peritoneum  (Peritonitis). 

The  peritoneum  is  a  serous  membrane,  which  not  only  gives  a 
covering  to  the  intestines,  but  also  a  lining  to  the  abdominal  cav- 
ity. Our  pathologists  teach  that  the  peritoneum,  like  other  serous 
membranes,  is  very  ready  to  take  on  inflammatory  action  upon  the 
operation  of  certain  exciting  causes.  "Watson  informs  us  that 
"acute  inflammation,  beginning  in  one  spot,  is  almost  sure  to 
tiansfer  itself  to  any  other  spot  that  happens  to  be  in  contact  with 
the  first,  and  is  very  apt  to  extend  itself  rapidly  to  the  whole 
membrane.  The  disease  tends  to  the  effusion  of  serum,  and  of 
coagulable  lymph.  It  is  of  the  adhesive  kind,  and  its  effects  are 
those  of  distending  the  peritoneal  cavity  with  fluid,  or  of  gluing 
its  opposite  surfaces  together,  so  as  to  obliterate  that  cavity,  or 
ot  forming  partial  attachments.  In  all  these  respects  the  analogy 
between  inflammation  of  the  peritoneum  and  inflammation  of  the  se- 
lous  membranes  of  the  chest  and  the  covering  of  the  heart  is  perfect." 

Peritonitis  is  generally  a  manageable  disease  when  treated  ac- 
cording to  the  principles  of  rational  medicine ;  but  when  treated 
according  to  the  dictum  of  Blain  and  others,  who  have  never 
done  any  original  thinking,  in  so  far  as  veterinary  science  is  con- 
cerned, it  is  decidedly  the  reverse.  For  example,  here  is  a  pas- 
sage from  Blain's  works: 

"The  treatment  of  peritonitis  is  much  the  same  as  for  enteritis. 
The  only  difference  is,  that  the  animal  will  lose  more  blood  before 
he  displays  any  symptoms  of  uneasiness.  We  may  also  be  more 
bold  with  purgatives.  The  three  ounces  of  solution  of  aloes  may 
be  increased  to  five,  the  pint  of  oil  enlarged  to  a  pint  and  a  half; 
and  if  this  produces  no  signs  of  its  having  acted  on  the  bowels, 
•it  may  even  be  repeated  when  another  three  hours  and  a  half  have 
elapsed.     All  the  other  measures  are  alike,  in  both  cases." 


198  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Those  who  follow  such  advice  as  this  would  be  very  apt  to  lose 
their  patients,  either  through  the  direct  influence  of  meddlesome 
medication,  or  by  converting  peritonitis  into  dropsy  of  the  abdo- 
men. But  let  us  see  what  Watson  says  on  the  subject  of  the 
treatment  of  peritonitis : 

"  Most  writers  whose  worth  I  am  acquainted  with  recommend 
purgatives  as  highly  serviceable  in  peritonitis.  I  do  not  think  the 
good  which  they  are  calculated  to  do,  as  antiphlogistic  remedies, 
can  at  all  be  put  in  competition  with  the  harm  that  I  am  per- 
suaded they  mav  produce,  by  increasing  the  peristaltic  action  of 
the  intestines,  and  so  causing  additional  friction  and  tension  of 
the  inflamed  membrane.  I  believe  that  in  all  cases  of  well-marked 
and  pure  peritonitis,  when  the  inflammation  is  limited  to  the  se- 
rous membrane,  it  is  far  better  and  safer  to  restrain  than  to  solicit 
the  internal  movements  of  the  alimentary  tube." 

In  human  practice,  physicians,  instead  of  giving  purgatives, 
resort  to  the  use  of  narcotics,  in  view  of  tranquilizing  the  system, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  mitigating  the  intense  pain  which  exists 
during'  the  acute  attack. 

Symptoms. — The  most  marked  symptoms  of  peritonitis  are  as 
follows :  In  the  early  stage,  the  animal  paws  slightly,  but  not 
with  that  sort  of  viciousness  which  is  characteristic  of  colic  or 
strangulation  of  the  intestines.  Soon,  he  shows  febrile  symptoms , 
the  pulse  runs  up  to  seventy*  or  more,  and  a  shivering  fit  sets  in. 
Then  pressure  is  made  on  the  abdomen,  the  animal  evinces  signs 
<  f  pain.  He  will  sometimes  get  down  and  lie  on  his  jack,  but 
•ie  soon  finds  out  that  the  best  way  of  lessening  his  pains  and 
aches  is  to  keep  as  quiet  as  possible.  His  tongue  is  usually  coated, 
and  the  bowels  are  inactive 

Treatment. — Give  the  patient  mucilaginous  drinks,  as  in  the  case 
of  enteritis,  and  drench  him  occasionally  with  an  infusion  of  poppy- 
heads,  in  pint  doses.  Empty  the  rectum  by  means  of  soap-suds 
enemas,  and  then  throw  in  a  quart  of  infusion  of  hops.  Cloths, 
wet  with  warm  water,  should  be  applied  to  the  abdomen,  and  the 
surface  of  the  body  should  be  kept  warm  by  means  of  blankets. 
This  kind  of  treatment,  with  good  nursing,  will  probably  restore 
the  aniinai  to  health.  Should  symptoms  of  dropsy  set  u,  give  two 
ounces  of  fluid  extract  of  buchu,  daily. 


diseases  of  tin:  digestive  organs.  199 

ascites,  or  Abdominal  Dropsy. 

Ascites  signifies  a  collection  of  serous  fluid  within  the  abdom- 
inal cavitv.  The  subject  of  this  disease  is  noticed  as  having  a 
symmetrical  and  uniform  enlargement  of  the  abdomen ;  and,  if  the 
patient  be  a  mare,  some  persons  are  likely  to  infer  that  she  is 
pregnant,  but  examination,  by  pressure,  will  suffice  to  determine 
the  conditions ;  for,  if  pressure  be  made  with  the  fingers,  in  the 
abdominal  region,  a  waving  or  fluctuating  motion  is  discovered, 
similar  to  that  which  follows  the  forcible  displacement  of  liquid. 
This  fluctuation  is  the  discriminating  symptom  between  ascites 
and  pregnancy,  for  in  the  case  of  pregnancy  no  such  fluctuation 
can  be  elicited. 

Ascites  is  usually  the  result  of  some  chronic  or  acute  disease  of 
the  peritoneum  (lining  membrane  of  the  walls  of  the  abdomen), 
or,  rather,  a  loss  of  equilibrium  between  the  local  functions  of 
secretion  and  absorption.  This  disease,  like  many  others,  may  be 
rapid  or  insidious.  If  rapid  or  acute,  it  is  apt  to  prove  fatal  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days ;  if  insidious  or  chronic,  the  animal  may 
survive  for  a  long  time,  as  the  following  case  will  show : 

Case  of  Dropsy  of  the  Abdomen,  ending  in  Rupture  of  the  Stom- 
ach.— The  subject  of  the  above-named  affections  was  a  mare,  owned 
by  the  Xorth  Chicago  Railroad  Company.  She  had  been  in  their 
employ  during  a  period  of  three  years,  and  had  always  performed 
'he  work  required  of  her  without  any  manifestation  of  disease;  in 
fact,  had  gone  her  usual  trips  up  to  within  a  few  hours  of  her  death. 
She  had  just  partaken  of  a  hearty  breakfast,  when,  all  at  once,  she 
began  to  falter,  and  the  surface  ot  the  body  was  soon  bedewed  with 
a  profuse  perspiration  ;  she  trembled,  the  head  became  pendulous, 
and  the  case  assumed  an  alarming  aspect. 

This  happened  at  about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  At  eight, 
my  attention  was  called  to  her,  when  the  following  symptoms  wera 
observed.  Pulse,  small  and  indistinct ;  respirations,  humid,  and 
rather  laborious;  abdomen,  quite  tense  from  distension;  percus- 
sion over  the  region  of  the  abdomen  yielded  a  dull  sound,  yet 
fluctuating,  showing  that  the  abdominal  cavity  was  occupied  by 
some  kind  of  fluid.  From  the  peculiar  conformation  of  the  abdo- 
men, I  at  first  suspected  that  the  animal  was  pregnant,  which 
proved  not  to  be  the  case. 

On   percussing  over  the  region  cf  the  stomach,  a  tympanitic 


200  LAUD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

sound  was  elicited,  showing  that  the  stomach  contained  a  laige 
quantity  of  gas,  and  was  over-distended.  Her  extremities  were 
cold,  and  other  symptoms  were  present  which  indicate  death,  I 
suspected  that  the  food  was  running  into  fermentation,  and,  in 
view  of  arresting  it,  I  gave  one  ounce  of  the  hyposulphite  of  soda, 
an. I  the  same  quantity  of  fluid  extract  of  ginger  and  golden  seal. 
The  body  was  bathed  with  new  rum,  and  she  was  rubbed  vigor- 
ously, by  three  men,  for  about  half  an  hour,  from  which  treatment 
she  seemed  to  rally  some.  Several  injections  of  salt  and  soap-suds 
were  thrown  into  the  rectum.  They  brought  away  a  slimy  sub- 
stance, but  very  little  feces.  Finally  nothing  came  away  but  that 
which  was  injected,  and  from  this  I  was  led  to  infer  that,  either 
from  pressure  or  stricture,  the  small  intestines  were  closed. 

I  now  determined  to  send  a  trocar  into  the  abdomen,  for  th<e 
purpose  of  discovering  what  it  contained,  and,  accordingly,  selected 
a  point  in  the  lower  middle  of  the  same.  In  withdrawing  the  cut- 
ting instrument,  a  fluid  commenced  to  run,  which,  in  color  and 
consistence,  resembled  urine.  For  an  hour  and  a  quarter  this  fluid 
continued  to  run  through  the  tube,  and  the  amount  obtained  must 
have- been  over  three  bucketsful.  I  was  in  hopes  that  the  with- 
drawal of  this  large  amount  of  fluid  might  remove  the  pressure  on 
the  intestinal  tube,  and  thus  the  gas,  which  was  pent  up  in  thy 
stomach,  might  find  its  way  to  the  anal  outlet.  Not  so,  however  ; 
for,  notwithstanding  all  our  efforts  and  attention,  the  mare  died, 
at  noon,  with  rupture  of  the  stomach. 

The  autopsy  revealed  a  rent,  or  rupture,  in  the  stomach,  of  about 
eight  inches  in  length,  through  which  a  portion  of  the  food  and 
fluids  of  the  stomach  had  escaped  into  the  abdominal  cavity.  The 
small  intestines  were  the  seat  of  stricture  in  several  places ;  their 
external  surface,  or,  rather,  peritoneal  covering,  was  studded  with 
albuminous  and  fibrous  deposits,  resulting  from  abdominal  dropsy  ; 
otherwise,  the  contents  of  the  chest  and  abdomen  presented  the 
appearance  of  perfect  health.  I  should  judge  that  the  water  had 
been  accumulating  in  the  abdominal  cavity  for  a  long  time.  The 
foreman  at  the  stable  observed  that  the  animal  always  appeared 
very  portly,  so  much  so  that  the  abdomen  was  square  with  the 
hips,  which  had  led  some  persons  to  suppose  that  her  hips  wore 
"  knocked  down." 

Most  authors  contend  that  when  a  horse  is  the  subject  of  rupt.ire 
of  the  stomach  or  intestines,  he  squats  on  the  haunches,  like  a  d«»g; 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORG  AN  si  2«,)i 

ou{  this  animal  did  not  exhibit  any  such  symptoms,  but  stood  up 
until  within  a  few  minutes  of  death. 

Treatment. — A  case  of  this  kind  requires  the  exhibition  of  tonics 
and  diuretics,  and  the  following  is  the  best  remedy  which  can  be 
fijiven : 

No.  23    Fluid  extract  of  buchu. )  x        te 

Fluid  extract  of  snakehead J    ^ 

Mix. 

Dose,  two  ounces  per  day. 

Inflammation  of  the  Intestines  (Enteritis). 

This  disease  is  located  on  the  inner  or  mucous  coat  of  the  in- 
testines, sometimes,  however,  involving  the  muscular  portion  of 
the  same.  The  causes  are  various:  improper  management,  bad 
food,  worms,  irritating  medicines,  musty  hay  or  clover,  chilling 
t'ie  body  by  cold  water,  exposure  to  rain,  etc. 

Symptoms. — The  disease  often  commences  with  a  shivering  fit, 
to  which  succeeds  heat  of  the  skin,  restlessness,  loss  of  appetite ; 
the  mouth  hot  and  dry;  the  inner  membrane  of  the  eyelids  and 
nostrils  are  redder  than  usual.  As  the  disease  progresses,  the  pain 
increases,  and  the  animal  will  lie  down.  There  is  no  intermission 
of  pain;  it  is  persistent.  The  breathing  is  accelerated,  and  p res- 
sure  in  the  abdominal  region  elicits  symptoms  of  pain.  The  bowels 
are  usually  constipated,  and  if  any  feces  are  voided,  they  consist  of 
small,  hardened  balls. 

An  examination  after  death  reveals  a  gangrenous  state  of  the 
small  and  sometimes  the  large  intestines.  Often  extra vasated 
Hood  is  found  within  the  intestinal  tube.  So  soon  as  the  pain 
ceases,  and  the  animal  appears  no  better,  we  infer  that  gangrene 
has  set  in  ;  cold  sweats  set  in,  and  the  animal  shortly  dies. 

Treatment. — The  treatment  of  enteritis  does  not,  and  should  not, 
differ  from  that  of  any  other  acute  affection.  Mucilaginous  drinks, 
cKlorate  of  potass,  hyposulphite  of  soda,  in  doses  as  recommended 
for  inflammation  of  the  stomach.  Occasional  enemas  of  soap-suds 
are  to  be  thrown  into  the  rectum,  so  long  as  the  feces  remain  hard, 
or  are  voided  with  difficulty.  The  objectionable  method  of  back- 
raking — so  highly  recommended  by  some  authors — should  never 
be  resorted  to;  it  is  a  disgusting  affair,  and  actually  unnecessary; 
for,  let  the  rectum  be  ever  so  impacted,  it  can  be  evacuated  by 


202 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


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DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  20S 

enemeta,  composed  of  soap-suds,  to  which  add  a  little  ginger  or 
lobelia.  If  the  weather  is  not  too  cold,  cloths  wet  with  warm  water 
may  be  applied  to  the  abdomen,  over  which  throw  a  blanket,  so 
as  to  prevent  evaporation  and  chill.  The  outrageous  treatment 
recommended  by  some  authors  is  a  disgrace  to  the  profession. 
They  recommend  bleeding  until  the  horse  faints  or  falls ;  then  to 
ocorch  the  sides  with  ammonia  and  cantharides;  and,  lastly,  to 
empoison  what  little  blood  he  may  have  left  in  his  system,  so  that 
death  may  occui  secundum  artem. 

Should  the  subject  of  inflammation  of  the  intestines  suffer  much 
pain,  a  drench  of  half  a  pint  or  more  of  infusion  of  hops,  or  pop- 
pies, may  be  given  occasionally ;  or  one  ounce  of  the  fluid  extract 
of  one  of  these  agents  may  be  substituted,  to  be  given  two  or  three 
times  during  twenty-four  hours. 

The  treatment  of  inflammation  of  the  intestines,  as  well  as  in- 
flammation of  any  other  part  of  the  body,  consists  in  using  those 
means  and  agents  which  ward  off  or  remove  any  agent  which,  m 
its  effects,  does,  or  tends  to,  deprive  any  of  the  organs  or  tissue' 
of  the  living  body  of  their  vital  action.  The  remedial  mean? 
used  to  accomplish  this  cbject  must  be  such,  and  such  only,  as 
sustain  the  weakened  or  increase  the  reduced  vital  action  in  any 
of  the  organs  or  tissues.  This  is  the  doctrine  which  the  author 
attempts  to  teach  in  this  work.  And  is  the  doctrine  not  plain? 
Could  any  thing  accord  more  directly  with  reason,  or  commend 
itself  more  clearly  to  the  common  sense  and  unbiased  judgment 
of  intelligent  people?  If  the  vital  action  of  any  of  the  organs  or 
tissues  become  weakened  or  enfeebled,  should  they  not  be  strength- 
ened? Can  this  be  done  by  any  other  agent  and  means  than  those 
which  increase  and  strengthen  this  very  vital  action  ?  If  this  ac- 
tion, in  any  of  the  organs  or  tissues  of  the  animal  body,  becomes 
reduced  or  impaired,  must  it  not  be  increased  by  agents  and  mean? 
which  cooperate  with  the  vital  power  ?  Then,  how  can  agents  and 
means  which  always  impair  vital  action  (poisons)  cure  disease  ? 

Different  remedial  means  have  different  effects  upon  the  organs 
and  tissues  of  the  system ;  but  all  poisons  and  agencies  which  im- 
pair the  integrity  of  the  organism  of  a  well  animal  must  have  a 
disastrous  effect  on  one  that  is  sick  and  suffering.  Unhealthy  and 
poisonous  agents  impair  and  reduce  the  vital  action  of  certain 
organs  and  tissues  according  to  the  nature  and  tendemy  to  affect 
various  parts  of  the  living  structures. 


z04  D^WS   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND   SURUcR* 

Now,  if  it  can  be  made  to  appear  that  disease  consists,  in  lis 
nature  and  effects,  in  increased  vital  action  or  increased  health  of 
any  portion  of  the  body  diseased,  then  will  it  be  proved  that  poi- 
sons are,  and  of  necessity  must  be,  medicines  or  the  agents  to  cure 
disease.  But  what  are  we  taught  by  our  brethren  of  the  heroic 
school  upon  this  point?  "In  spontaneous  disease,"  that  is,  dis- 
ease which  occurs  without  any  apparent  cause,  Hunter  contends, 
4 'we  know  of  no  method  that  will  entirely  quiet  or  remove  the 
inflammatory  action  or  disposition.  All  we  can  do,  probably,  is 
to  lessen  every  thing  which  has  a  tendency  to  keep  it  up.  In- 
flammation is  either  an  increase  of  life  or  an  increase  of  a  dispo- 
sition to  use  it." 

Again :  "  One  of  the  means  of  curing  this  inflammation,"  says 
the  same  author,  "  is  by  producing  weakness.  The  means  of  pro- 
ducing weakness  Of  an  absolute  character  are,  bleeding,  purging, 
and  the  exhibition  of  poisonous  agents.  The  inconvenience,  how- 
ever, arising  from  this  practice  is,  that  the  sound  and  healthy 
parts  must  suffer  nearly  in  the  same  proportion  with  the  diseased ; 
for,  by  bringing  the  inflamed  parts  on  a  par  with  health,  the 
sound  parts  must  be  brought  much  lower,  so  as  to  be  too  low. 
The  first  method,  namely,  bleeding,  will  have  the  greatest,  the 
most  permanent,  the  most  lasting  effect;  because,  if  it  have  any 
effect  at  all,  the  diseased  action  can  not  be  soon  renewed;  the 
second,  purging  and  poisoning,  will  act  as  auxiliary,  so  that  these 
processes  go  hand  in  hand ;  but  neither  these  nor  sickness  can  pos- 
sibly lessen  the  original  inflammatory  disposition.  Lessening  the 
power  of  action  belonging  to  the  inflammatory  disposition  can 
only  lessen  or  protect  its  effects,  which,  however,  may  be  of  serv- 
ice, as  less  mischief  will  be  done,  and  this  will  often  give  the 
inflamed  disposition  time  to  wear  itself  out.  But  this  practice 
must  not  be  carried  too  far.  It  must  be  followed  with  great 
judgment.  Nothing  debilitates  so  much  as  purging,  if  carried 
beyond  a  certain  point.  Even  one  purging  may  kill  when  the 
constitution  is  much  reduced.  The  internal  medicines  generally 
ordered  for  the  cure  of  inflammations  are  such  as  have  a  similar 
effect  to  that  of  bleeding ;  namely,  lowering  the  constitution  or 
the  action  of  the  parts.  As  inflammation  has  too  much  action, 
which  action  gives  the  idea  of  strength,  such  applications  a* 
weaken  are  recommended." 

Here,  then,  are  the  reasons  for  the  use  of  poisons  to  cure  dip- 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  205 

eases,  as  believed  and  taught  by  our  brethren  of  the  heroic  school. 
Such  agents  and  means  we  do  not  want,  for  the  plain  reason  that 
disease  can  be  cured  quicker  and  better  without  than  with  them. 
Our  system  of  practice,  and  that  recommended  in  this  work,  tends 
to  sustain  the  vital  powers  during  the  progress  of  disease;  and 
this  is  accomplished  by  resorting  to  sanative  medication.  This 
sanative  system  of  medication  must,  eventually,  commend  itself  to 
the  candid  and  to  the  unprejudiced  reasoner  and  scientific  inquirer 
lifter  truth. 


Strangulation  of  the  Intestines. 

When  an  animal  becomes  the  subject  of  strangulation  of  the  in- 
testines, it  is  very  difficult,  at  first,  to  diagnose  the  case,  for  the 
symptoms  very  much  resemble  those  of  spasmodic  colic;  yet  as 
the  treatment  of  the  two  diseases  does  not  differ  much,  the  mistake 
La  itself  is  of  little  consequence. 

Symptoms. — The  difficulty  is,  at  first,  accompanied  by  uneasi- 
oess.  The  animal  moves  about  in  his  stall,  and  commences  stamp- 
iug  with  one  of  the  fore-feet.  Frequently  he  gets  down  and  rolls 
on  his  back,  in  which  position  he  will  remain  sometimes  for  sev- 
eral minutes.  So  soon  as  he  rises,  he  commences  to  paw  and 
stamp  with  a  vengeance.  As  the  disease  advances,  he  totters,  and 
sometimes  drops  on  the  floor.  The  pulse  is  usually  irregular,  the 
mouth  cold,  and  visible  surfaces  pallid ;  the  tongue  appears  of  a 
bluish  cast;  and  the  body  is  generally  bedewed  with  sweat.  Fi- 
nally, the  animal  makes  great  efforts  to  evacuate  the  rectum,  and 
in  so  doing  strains  violently,  so  as  to  cause  blood  to  escape  from 
the  rectum ;  and  sometimes  the  rectum  itself  protrudes.  Should 
the  symptoms  not  improve,  the  animal  soon  dies  of  strangulation 
and  mortification  of  the  intestines. 

Treatment. — This  must  be  of  an  anti-spasmodic  character.  Aa 
ounce  or  two  of  fluid  extract  of  lobelia  should  be  given,  every  two 
hours,  in  a  pint  of  warm  water;  the  body  should  be  enveloped 
in  bandages,  wet  with  warm  water,  and  enemas  of  assafetida  or 
lobelia  should  be  thrown  into  the  rectum ;  but  if  the  rectum  pro- 
trude, enemas  are  inadmissible.  On  some  occasions  of  the  kind 
I  etherize  the  patient,  with  marked  relief. 


206  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 


\V0UN.D8   PENETRATING    THE    ABDOMINAL    CAVITY. 

The  treatment  of  a  penetrating  wound  into  the  abdomen  nil 
depend  somewhat  upon  the  nature  of  the  same.  Should  the  intes- 
tines protrude  through  the  wound  and  exhibit  a  puncture,  put  or 
the  twitch  and  Rarej -strap.  Then  return  the  intestines  into  the 
abdominal  cavity,  and  proceed  to  suture  or  sew  up  the  intestinal 
rent,  by  means  of  a  small  needle,  armed  with  sewing  silk — first, 
by  means  of  sutures  through  the  abdominal  muscles,  one  end  of 
the  suture  being  left  long  enough  to  hang  out  of  the  wound; 
second,  close  the  skin  (the  sutures  should  be  distant  from  each 
other  about  one  inch) ;  next  place  a  cold  water  pad  on  the  parts, 
and  encircle  the  body  in  the  injured  region  with  a  cotton-roller, 
over  which  place  a  surcingle,  and  securely  fasten  it.  In  the  event 
of  the  intestines  being  swollen  and  distended,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  cast  the  patient ;  then  roll  him  on  his  back,  and  thus  the  pro- 
trusion may  be  returned ;  but  should  they  still  prove  too  large  for 
the  orifice,  it  must  be  dilated  by  means  of  a  probe-pointed  knife. 

Splenic  Apoplexy  (Carbuncttlar  Fever). 

Mr.  Gamgee  has  made  some  translations  from  foreign  authors 
on  the  subject  of  Splenic  Apoplexy,  and  he  tells  us  that  "  this  is 
the  disease  described  as  carbuncular  fever  by  Renault  and  Rey- 
nal.  It  is  most  common  in  hot  and  tempestuous  seasons.  In  its 
carefully-observed  symptoms,  M.  Anginiard  is  induced  to  regard 
the  disease  as  dependent  on  miasmatic  exhalation.  Until  recently, 
the  author  had  studied  the  malady  only  in  sheep,  but  has  fre- 
quently observed  it,  of  late,  in  the  horse.  It  is  not  so  suddenly 
fatal  in  the  latter  as  in  the  former.  The  prostration  and  stupor 
are  very  striking.  The  horse  can  barely  stand,  and  is  very  list- 
less ;  the  muscles  of  the  limbs  tremble,  and  partial  sweats  bedew 
the  body.  In  some  parts  the  skin  is  dry,  and  the  coat  staring ; 
the  breathing  is  slow  and  irregular;  the  conjunctiva,  or  lining 
of  the  eyelids,  is  white,  and  indicative  of  an  anemic  or  bloodlcsa 
state;  the  pulse  is  feeble,  wiry,  and  accelerated,  offering  a  remark- 
able contrast  to  the  tumultuous  action  of  the  heart ;  the  loins  are 
very  sensitive;  and  there  are  often  indications  of  pain  on  pres- 
sure on  the  abdominal  walls.  Colicky  symptoms  are  frequently 
noticed.    At  first,  all  appetite  is  lost,  but,  as  the  disease  advances, 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  207 

tut;  animal  eats  and  drinks  freely.  In  attempting  to  bleed  an 
animal,  great  difficulty  is  experienced  in  filliag  the  vein;  and 
when  the  blood  flows,  the  animal  instantly  manifests  great  weak- 
ness. The  blood  is  black,  and  does  not  coagulate  as  in  health. 
The  symptoms  rapidly  grow  worse,  the  breathing  labored,  the 
eyes  sunken,  the  prostration  extreme,  and  progression  impossible, 
until  Lie  animal  reels  over  and  dies.  The  disease  runs  a  rapid 
course,  and,  on  an  average,  death  occurs  within  fifteen  or  eight- 
een hours.  There  is  an  absence  of  the  external  swellings  char- 
acteristic of  ordinary  carbuncular  fever ;  and  the  internal  disten- 
sions of  organs,  particularly  of  the  spleen,  so  ably  described  by 
Renault  and  Reynal,  are  sufficient,  according  to  M.  Anginiard,  to 
distinguish  the  two  diseases.  In  the  treatment  of  this  disease, 
Anginiard  trusts  mainly  to  quinine.  He  administers  a  drachm 
and  a  half  as  soon  as  possible,  either  in  an  infusion  of  coffee  or 
other  aromatic  mixture.  If  the  symptoms  do  not  subside  two 
hours  afterward,  two  drachms  are  given.  Generally  this  is  suf- 
ficient. If  not,  a  third  and  fourth  dose  have  to  be  exhibited. 
Bleeding  is  to  be  condemned.  The  body  of  the  animal  may  be 
rubbed  with  a  wisp,  or  a  turpentine  liniment  may  be  employed 
as  a  derivative.  Free  ventilation,  and  leaving  the  animal  uncov- 
ered, to  permit  free  exhalation,  are  essential  points  in  the  man- 
agement of  these  animals.  M.  Dumesnie  has  tried  this  treatment, 
and  found  it  most  successful.  Anginiard  believes  in  small  doses, 
and  not  often  enough  repeated." 

Apoplexy  is  a  disease  which,  if  not  discovered  early,  is  very 
apt  to  prove  fatal.  Whether  discovered  or  not,  in  its  early  stage 
it  generally  baffles  the  skill  of  those  who,  in  this  country,  have 
attempted  to  cure  it.  The  incurability  of  such  malady  may,  under 
the  circumstances,  be  accounted  for  on  the  belief  that  it  often 
rages  as  an  enzootic,  affecting  animals  in  isolated  spots,  without 
regard  to  locality,  and  attacking  only  those  susceptible  to  its 
influence.  Waat  the  conditions  are  which  favor  its  propagation 
I  am  unable  to  determine,  for  I  have  known  it  to  affect  equally 
.hose  which  appeared  healthy  as  well  as  others  unhealthy  in  ap- 
pearance; hence  it  is  very  difficult  for  any  one  to  point  out  the 
direct  causes  of  the  affection.  I  have  not  seen  many  cases  of  either 
enlargement  of  the  spleen,  or  apoplexy  of  the  same,  occurring  in 
cattle,  from  the  fact  that  my  practice  has  been  mostly  confined  to 
horses  in  cities,  where  cattle  were  not  very  numerous;  but  a  friend 


208  DADDS  VETERINARY   MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

of  mine,  located  in  a  cattle-raising  district  in  the  State  of  Maine, 
informed  me  that  this  disease,  accompanied  by  enlargement,  often 
prevail.0  there  enzootically,  and  that  most  of  the  animals  thua 
affected  die.  I  have  had  considerable  experience  in  the  treatment 
of  such  affections  in  horses,  but,  as  I  have  just  observed,  the  result 
is  very  unsatisfactory.  I  believe  I  have  but  one  case  of  cure  on 
record,  and  the  medicines  used  on  that  occasion  were  stimulant* 
and  tonics,  with  forty  grains  of  iodide  of  potass  per  day.  The 
spine  was  also  rubbed,  night  and  morning,  with  equal  parts  of 
cod- liver  oil  and  spirits  of  camphor. 

Enlargement  of  the  Spleen. 

Sinqjtuuis. — The  symptoms  of  enlargement  of  the  spleen  in 
horses  (they  do  not  differ  much  in  cattle)  are  as  follows:  Feeble 
pulse;  respiration  not  much  disturbed;  the  tongue  is  usually 
coated;  mouth,  hot,  and  the  breath  has  a  feted  odor;  the  mem- 
branes lining  the  mouth  and  eyeballs  have  a  slight  yellow  tinge ; 
the  head  droops,  and  the  tips  of  the  ears  and  lower  parts  of  the 
limbs  are  chilly ;  the  patient  is  rather  unwilling  to  move,  and, 
when  urged  to  do  so,  exhibits  a  staggering  gait,  and  sometimes  falls 
never  to  rise ;  the  urine  is  scanty,  and,  in  the  last  stages,  blood 
ooze?  from  the  anus  and  nostrils ;  colicky  pains  attend  the  disease. 

In  a  case  that  terminated  fatally,  I  made  the  following  record 
•  if  the  post-mortem  examination :  On  opening  the  abdominal  cav- 
ity, the  spleen  was  found  to  occupy  a  very  large  space.  It  was 
of  immense  proportions,  and  weighed  nearly  twelve  pounds.  The 
ordinary  weight  is  three  pounds.  It  presented  the  appearance 
of  a  spleen  in  the  chronic  stage  of  disease,  being  altered  in  struc- 
ture, of  a  dark,  pitchy  color,  and  surcharged  with  dark,  venous 
bl  xxl.  Before  death,  I  percussed  the  left  side,  in  the  locality  of 
the  spleen,  and  the  sound  elicited  was  of  a  solid  character,  which 
indicated  enlargement  of  the  same. 

TD.e  early  symptoms  of  splenic  apoplexy  do  not  differ  much 
from  the  above,  only  they  are  of  a  more  acute  character.  In  the 
iattei  stages,  the  makly  is  complicated  with  a  painful  affection  of 
the  bowels.  The  diagnostic  symptom  of  splenic  apoplexy,  witL 
enlargement  of  the  same,  is  a  notable  enlargement  on  the  left  side 
of  the  abdomen,  well  up  toward  the  ribs.  When  standing  behind 
an  affected  animal,  and  casting  one's  eyes  carefully  along  the 
sides  of  the. abdominal  walls,  a  perceptible  eminence  will  be  seen, 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  20'J 

wnich  can  not  be  mistaken.     The  region  of  the  bpleen  is  between 
the  stomach  and  the  false  ribs  on  the  left  side. 

In  view  of  rendering  this  subject  more  valuable  and  interesting, 
T  now  introduce  the  following,  which  was  written  for  the  "  Edin- 
burgh Review:" 

"Splenic  Apoplexy. — This  disease  broke  out  in  the  year  1858, 
on  a  farm  characterized  by  its  extreme  richness  of  soil,  in  the 
north  of  Northumberland.  In  1859  the  malady  reappeared,  and 
did  not  cease  until  twenty-three  head  of  cattle  had  been  affected. 
Splenic  apoplexy  is  a  malady  that  has  not  hitherto  been  observed 
in  the  north  of  Britain,  and  its  occurrence  recently  is  evidently 
to  be  attributed  to  the  special  method  of  farming  and  feeding 
stock  where  it  has,  for  the  last  two  years,  proved  so  destructive. 

The  farm  is  a  peculiarly  dry  one.  About  three  hundred  head 
of  cattle  are  annually  fattened  on  it.  One  lot  was  made  ready 
by  Christmas,  and  sold  as  fat  beef  in  Newcastle;  a  second  was 
kept  back  until  January,  when  they  were  allowed  an  abundance 
of  turnips,  meal,  and  the  best  oat  straw.  The  cattle  affected  were 
three  years  old ;  and  it  would  appear  that  those  fed  on  Swedish 
turnips,  especially  from  a  certain  field,  suffered  most;  but  some 
fed  on  yellow  or  white  turnips  have  been  affected,  and  we  should 
regard  the  meal,  and  perhaps  the  oat  straw,  as  more  likely  to  pro- 
duce this  disorder.  According  to  Delafoud's  researches,  legum- 
inosse,  or  forage  very  rich  in  nutritive  principles  and  deficient  in 
water,  from  artificial  pastures,  are  frequent  causes  of  splenic  apo- 
plexy. The  farmer  in  Northumberland  suspected  that  the  arti- 
ficial manures  had  produced  the  trouble,  and  the  following  season 
ne  dressed  his  land  with  home  manure ;  but  the  properties  of  the 
last  crop  have  proved  as  deleterious  as  those  of  the  preceding  one. 
The  fact  is,  the  crop  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  development  of 
the  disease. 

The  malady  stopped  suddenly,  about  the  middle  of  February, 
ana  this  was  probably  due  to  the  cattle  suffering  only  when  the 
system  was  taxed  by  change  from  rather  moderate  to  very  high 
feeding.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  in  cows  the  disorder  only 
affects  those  which  are  approaching  the  period  when  the  secretion 
of  milk  is  stopped,  and  when  there  is  a  tendency  to  lay  on  flesh, 
they  then  being  liable  to  plethora.  Cows  fed  on  food  capable  of 
producing  splenic  apoplexv  die  of  it. 

Change  of  diet  proved  of  no  avail  at  the  farm  referred  to  (show- 


210  DADD'C    .  ETER1NARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

ing  very  conclusively  that  the  food  was  not  the  special  cause). 
Common  salt  was  recommended  as  a  preventive;  but  Delafoud 
has  shown  that  salt  is  not  a  reliable  remedy  in  such  cases.  The 
malady  stopped  spontaneously,  and  the  point  now  to  settle  is  th« 
prevention  of  disease  during  the  future  seasons. 

For  the  lenefit  of  our  readers  who  may  not  know  the  symptoms 
of  splenic  apoplexy,  we  may  mention  that  often  there  are  premon- 
itory signs — the  animals  apparently  enjoying  the  best  of  health 
early  in  the  morning,  may  be  dead  some  time  before  noon.  Some- 
times there  are  symptoms  of  excitement;  the  eyes  are  prominent, 
and  the  visible  mucous  membranes  are  injected  or  reddened. 
Symptoms  of  uneasiness  suddenly  manifest  themselves,  and  col- 
icky pains  indicate  abdominal  disorder.  The  urine  voided  is  high- 
colored  and  red,  and  there  may  also  be  blood  in  the  feces.  The 
back  becomes  arched,  and  the  animal  fixes  himself,  hanging  on  to 
any  thing  by  which  he  is  tied,  or  he  will  press  his  haunches  on 
some  resting-place  in  the  corner  of  the  stall.  After  this  the  ani- 
mal soon  drops,  and  is  seized  with  convulsive  pains  and  twitchings. 
In  addition  to  the  discharge  of  feces  and  urine,  tinged  with  blood, 
there  is  a  red,  frothy  liquid,  which  escapes  from  the  nostrils ;  the 
animal  bellows,  moans,  and  soon  dies." 

Treatment — Tonics,  alteratives,  and  glandular  stimulants  are 
indicated.     Take  of 

No.  24.  Fluid  extract  of  blood-root 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  golden  sea.l 6  oz. 

Chlorate  of  potass 4  oz. 

Dissolve  the  potass  in  one  pint  of  boiling  water ;  then  add  the 
extracts.  Give  the  patient  a  wine-glassful  every  six  hours,  until 
amendment  is  perceptible,  when  the  dose  may  be  decreased  to  two 
ounces  every  twelve  hours.  Rub  the  body  with  a  portion  of  the 
following : 

No.  25.  Proof  spirits 1    pint. 

Tincture  of  capsicum •-■   4  oz. 

Two  or  three  applications,  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours, 
will  suffice.  Should  the  animal  suffer  much  from  colicky  pains, 
dissolve  one  ounce  of  hyposulphite  of  soda  in  four  ounces  of  hot 
water,  to  which  add  half  a  table-spoonful  of  powdered  gingei, 
and  drench  with  the  same.  Pure  air  and  a  light  diet  wir  iid  in 
restoring  the  animal,  provided  the  case  is  curable. 


diseases  of  the  digestiv'e  orgas  8.  211 

Fcnxtional  Disease  of  the  Liver  (Jaundice  or  Yellows). 

The  liver,  like  other  parts  of  the  digestive  apparatus,  is  liable 
to  become  deranged,  in  either  function  or  structure,  by  errors  in 
diet,  which  is  the  most  potent  cause  of  both  functional  and  or- 
ganic disease  of  the  same.  In  almost  all  cases  of  liver  disease, 
we  observe  a  yellow  tinge  of  the  visible  surfaces — membranes  of 
the  eye  and  mouth.  In  order  to  account  for  the  yellow  tinge,  we 
nrist  bear  in  mind  that  bile  is  formed  in  the  blood;  that  the  office 
of  the  liver  is  to  absorb  or  withdraw  it  from  the  circulation  con- 
stantly, as  fast  as  it  is  formed.  Disease  of  the  liver,  simulating 
jaundice,  manifests  itself  whenever  the  due  separation  of  the  bile 
from  the  blood  is  not  accompli  jhed ;  hence  the  accumulated  bile 
seeks  other  outlets,  namely,  the  kidneys  and  intestines,  and  ex- 
cretory gland  of  the  skin. 

When  animals  become  jaundiced  suddenly,  we  may  infer  that 
the  difficult}7,  whatever  it  may  be,  in  the  liver,  is  of  an  acute 
character  •  that  is  to  say,  it  is  recent  in  origin  and  active  in  form. 
Jaundice  is  a  phenomenon  of  several  diseases  peculiar  to  horses. 
During  the  progress  of  the  epizootic  known  as  influenza  a  jaun- 
diced state  of  the  visible  surfaces  is  always  present,  which  disap- 
pears when  the  patient  convalesces,  showing  that  the  liver  is  only 
functionally  deranged.  When  jaundice  accompanies  indigestion, 
and  disappears  under  the  action  of  alteratives  or  changes  in  diet, 
we  may  also  infer  that,  if  not  absolutely  functional,  it  is,  at  least, 
not  purely  inflammatory. 

It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  jaundice  is  of  but  little  consequence 
hi  prognosis,  since  the  symptoms  with  which  it  is  often  associated 
declare,  much  more  positively  than  itself,  the  gravity  of  the  affection 
in  which  it  occurs  as  a  symptom.  It  sometimes  happens,  however, 
that  the  function  of  the  liver  becomes  suddenly  interrupted,  causing 
pain,  after  the  fashion  of  what  accompanies  the  bilious  colic  of  man. 

The  following  case  will  probably  give  the  reader  some  idea  of 
the  nature  of  acute  functional  disorder  of  the  liver.  The  patient, 
a  gray  gelding,  aged  nine  years,  was  suddenly  attacked  with  symp- 
toms of  colicky  pains,  for  the  relief  of  which  the  owner  had  given 
a  colic  drench,  which  seemed  to  afford  temporary  ease ;  but  soon 
the  symptoms  reappeared,  the  animal  got  down,  and  seemed  to  be 
the  subject  of  acute  pain.  Under  these  circumstance?,  the  owner 
sent  for  me. 


212  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Symptoms. — On  arriving  at  the  stable,  I  found  the  patient  stand- 
ing, his  head  somewhat  pendulous,  appearing  dull  and  sleepy.  The 
membranes  within  the  eyelids  and  mouth  were  of  a  bright  yellow 
tinge ;  pulse,  rather  feeble ;  bowels,  constipated ;  in  short,  the  usual 
appearances  attending  functional  derangement  of  the  liver  were 
present ;  yet  the  "  key-note,"  or  diagnostic  symptom,  was  the  bright 
yellow  tinge  of  the  visible  surfaces. 

Treatment. — The  following  drench  was  given  : 

No.  26.  Fluid  extract  of  mandrake 3  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  golden  seal 1  oz. 

Carbonate  of  soda 2  d*\ 

Water \  pint. 

An  injection  of  soap-suds  was  thrown  into  the  rectum,  which 
brought  away  a  small  quantity  of  hardened,  dark -colored  excremenil. 
Next  day  I  found  the  patient  in  about  the  same  condition,  and  re  • 
peated  the  dose  of  medicine  and  injection.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
hours  the  bowels  responded,  evacuating  a  large  quantity  of  semi- 
fluid, dark-colored  feces,  mixed  with  a  substance  resembling  shreds 
of  albumen.  Next  day  the  animal  appeared  much  better.  I  then- 
gave  two  ounces  of  fluid  extract  of  golden  seal,  and  one  drachm 
of  hyposulphite  of  soda,  and  thus  ended  the  treatment. 

This  case  is  an  illustration  of  a  simple  mode  of  treatment  far 
superior  to  the  old-fashioned  system,  which  contemplates  strong 
doses  of  aloes  and  calomel,  agents  which  usually  intensify  the 
morbid  phenomena,  often  producing  a  medicinal  affection,  which 
requires  much  time  for  the  animal  to  recover  from.  It  is  the 
author's  opinion  that  a  vast  number  of  very  fine  animals  in  these 
United  States  die  from  the  heroic  system  of  practice,  which  over- 
looks the  best  means  of  aid  presented  by  the  resources  of  mild 
and  sanative  medication. 

We  have  long  been  an  advocate  of  the  physiological  metnod 
of  treating  disease,  and  we  contend  that  is  more  philosophical, 
safe,  and  the  surest  means  of  restoring  an  equilibrium  of  vital 
action  in  the  animal  economy,  in  all  forms  of  morbid  conditions ; 
and  we  earnestly  entreat  our  readers  to  exercise  great  faith  in  the 
powers  of  Nature  to  aid  and  assist  in  the  cure  of  all  maladies, 
and  place  less  reliance  in  the  power  of  art. 

In  view  of  strengthening  the  faith  of  young  converts  to  sana- 
tive medication,  we  quote  the  language  of  Sir  John  Forres,  a 
man  of  undoubted    intliority. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  213 

**  Such  has  ever  been  the  want  of  trust  in  Xature,  and  the  over- 
trust  in  art,  prevalent  among  the  members  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion, that  the  field  of  natural  observation  has  been,  to  a  great  extent, 
hidden  from  them — hidden  either  actually  from  their  eyes  or  vir- 
tually from  their  apprehension.  The  constant  interference  of  art, 
in  the  form  of  medical  treatment,  with  the  normal  processes  of 
disease,  has  not  only  had  the  frequent  effect  of  disturbing  them  in 
reality,  but,  when  it  failed  to  do  so,  has  created  the  belief  that  it 
did  so,  leading,  in  either  case,  to  an  inference  equally  wrong — the 
false  picture,  in  the  one  instance,  being  supposed  to  be  true;  the 
true  picture,  in  the  other,  being  supposed  to  be  false." 

In  all  cases  of  liver  disease,  it  is  good  policy  to  change  the  diet, 
and  offer  the  animal  green  vegetables — sliced  carrots,  and  grass 
if  it  can  be  had.  In  all  cases  of  chronic  disease  of  the  liver,  a 
run  ut  grass  is  the  most  potent  remedy  for  the  cure  of  the  same. 

It  was  formerly  supposed  that  the  function  of  the  liver  was 
merely  to  eliminate  bile,  but  modern  physiologists  have  discovered 
that  the  blood  itself  is  changed  while  circulating  through  that 
gland,  which  elaborates  fibrine  from  albumen,  and  fat  from  sugar. 
The  liver  stores  up  fatty  matter,  so  that,  should  the  food  be  deficient 
in  fat,  the  liver  yields  up  what  it  contains.  It  is  very  curious  to 
notice  the  peculiarity  in  the  circulation  of  the  liver.  It  is  supplied, 
like  other  organs,  with  arterial  blood  for  its  own  support ;  and  it 
also  receives  an  immense  quantity  of  venous  blood  through  veins 
commencing  on  the  gastro-intestinal  cavity,  which  terminate  in  a 
vessel  named  vena  porta.  This  vessel,  on  entering  the  liver,  ram- 
ifies in  various  directions,  like  an  artery,  and  ultimately  terminates 
in  the  veins  peculiar  to  the  liver ;  so  that  the  blood,  instead  of  flowing 
directly  from  the  stomach  and  intestines,  is  made  to  circulate  through 
the  liver,  and  thus  the  various  transformations  are  effected.  The 
liver  must,  therefore,  perform  the  double  function  of  secretion  and 
excretion.  It  secretes  bile,  and  excretes  carbon  and  hydrogen  from 
the  system.  Should  an  animal  labor  under  diseased  lungs,  he  may, 
under  proper  medical  treatment,  recover,  provided  the  liver  be 
healthy.  This  organ  can,  for  a  time,  eliminate  carbon  and  hydro- 
gen ;  but,  instead  of  passing  off  as  they  do  from  the  lungs,  in  the 
form  of  carbonic  acid,  they  accumulate  in  the  liver,  in  the  form 
of  fat,  or  else  the  liver  increases  to  an  extraordinary  size  In 
Strasburg  they  prepare  a  favorite  dish  from  the  livers  of  geese, 
artificially  enlarged  by  the  cruel  process  of  depriving  them  of 


ill  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

light  and  liberty,  confining  them  in  a  warm  room,  and  stuffing 
them  with  food.  We  find  that,  under  such  barbarous  management, 
there  is  a  disproportion  between  the  oxygen  respired  and  the  car- 
bon taken  in  the  form  of  food.  The  respiration  which  active  ex- 
ercise increases  and  rest  diminishes  are,  now  that  the  animal  is 
confined,  slow  and  uniform.  The  lungs  fail  in  eliminating  car- 
bonic acid,  and  hence  carbon  and  hydrogen  are  driven  back  to  the 
livei  by  means  of  venous  circulation.  An  excess  of  carbonaceous 
material  in  the  liver  is  liable  to  result  in  jaundice,  which  is  a  simple 
functional  derangement  of  that  organ.  It  occurs  generally  in  the 
warm  months,  and  is  usually  sudden  in  its  attack. 

Among  the  most  prominent  symptoms  are  high-colored  urine, 
yellow  tinge  of  the  visible  surfaces,  languid  pulse,  and  slow  action. 
If  the  liver  be  the  seat  of  inflammatory  action,  the  pulse  will  be 
quick  and  bounding,  respiration  hurried,  the  patient  feverish,  and 
pressure  over  the  region  of  the  liver  elicits  symptoms  of  pain. 
If  simple  functional  derangement  exists  unchecked  for  any  length 
of  time,  it  leads  to  organic  lesions  and  structural  disease.  When 
the  bile  accumulates,  it  is  very  apt  to  thicken  and  produce  gall- 
stones or  calculi ;  if  these  accumulate  in  the  gall  ducts,  the  subject,, 
anless  relieved,  soon  dies. 

Diseases  of  the  liver  have  hitherto  been  considered  the  bane  of 
tropical  climates,  but  they  are  equally  prevalent  in  cold  and  moist 
regions.  Horses  and  men  are  as  frequently  attacked  with  it  in 
northern  as  in  southern  latitudes.  The  celebrated  sheep-breeder, 
Bakewell,  knew  that  early  disturbance  of  the  liver  led  to  the  ac- 
cumulation of  fat,  and,  in  order  to  derange  the  liver,  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  folding  his  sheep  in  wet  pastures.  Now,  the  English 
agriculturists  are  well  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  water  mea- 
dows have  a  tendency  to  produce  that  almost  incurable  disease 
termed  rot.  Rot  originates  from  a  diseased  liver,  and,  in  the 
early  stages  of  it,  the  animal  accumulates  fat  very  fast ;  so  that 
by  rotting  sheep  he  was  able  to  bring  fat  ones  early  to  market,  and 
thus  steal  a  march  on  his  more  conscientious  neighbors.  This 
state  of  the  liver  termed  rot  is  associated  with  the  existence 
of  parasites  termed  distoma  hepatieum,  commonly  denominated 
flukes,  and  these  parasites  are  considered  the  cause  of  rot,  when, 
in  fact,  they  are  the  results  of  deranged  functions  of  the  liver. 
The  rot,  therefore,  is  not  local.  It  can  be  produced  in  any  coun- 
try by  exposing  animals  to  the  debilitating  effects  of  moisture  and 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  21b 

neglect.  It  is  not  only  prevalent  in  England,  but  also  in  Asia, 
Africa,  and  America.  In  Egypt,  on  the  receding  of  the  Nile,  it 
spreads  to  a  fearful  extent.  In  warm  climates  the  livers  of  men 
and  animals  become  diseased,  not  so  much  from  local  causes  as 
from  stimulating  drinks  and  diet.  If  a  man  attempts  to  consume 
the  same  amount  of  food  in  warm  that  he  has  been  accustomed  to 
in  cold  climates,  he  is  apt  to  become  bilious,  and  this  is  a  pre- 
monitory indication  of  perverted  function  of  the  liver.  A  very 
important  fact  has  lately  been  discovered  in  reference  to  the  func- 
tion of  the  lr/er.  A  French  chemist  has  ascertained  that  one 
function  of  the  liver  was  to  produce  sugar  out  of  the  animal  or- 
ganism. This  is  the  secret  of  the  formation  of  the  fat.  Chem- 
ically speaking,  sugar  and  fat  are  nearly  allied,  the  chief  difference 
being  that  one  contains  a  small  portion  of  oxygen. 

Many  valuable  animals  are  lost  from  organic  disease  of  the 
liver,  the  origin  of  which  may,  in  many  cases  that  have  come  to 
our  knowledge,  be  traced  to  simple  functional  derangement,  which 
has  existed  for  some  time.  Its  symptoms  are  either  unobserved 
or,  if  perceived,  disregarded.  Some  of  the  subjects  that  have  been 
put  under  our  care  for  the  treatment  of  diseased  liver  had  a  strong 
predisposition  for  the  malady,  their  color  being  black  and  tem- 
perament bilious.  Such  horses  are  the  ones  that  require  special 
attention  whenever  they  appear  to  be  "  ailing."  It  is  remarkable 
to  observe,  however,  that  many  horses  of  a  temperament  diverse 
from  the  bilious  are  often  attacked  with  organic  and  functional 
derangement  of  the  liver,  and  this  peculiarity  can  only  be  ac- 
counted for  on  the  ground  that  the  horse  has  no  gall-bladder — 
no  receptacle,  such  as  is  found  in  cattle,  for  the  accumulation  of 
bile  ;  consequently,  the  horse's  liver  must  be  an  active  organ, 
especially  when  the  animal  is  permitted  to  make  but  one  meal  per 
day,  and  that  meal  occupies  a  period  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  and 
daily  and  weekly  continues  to  occupy  no  less  time.  The  conse- 
quence is,  the  organ  is  overworked,  and  is  the  seat  of  local  ex- 
haustion. The  liver  requires  regular  periods  of  rest  to  recover 
from  fatigue  01  functional  duty,  yet  how  is  it  possible  to  secure 
the  same  when  a  horse  is  permitted  to  make  a  perpetual  hay-rack 
and  corn-bin  of  his  stomach  ?  The  herculean  feat  of  converting 
a  hay-stack  and  corn  granary  into  bone,  muscle,  and  nerve  at  the 
rate  of  2.40  is  beyond  the  physiological  capacity  of  any  vital 
organ ;  therefore,  in   the  language  of  the  sailor,  the  vessel  smku 


216  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

from  local  inundation — the  liver  caves  in  from  overwork,  too  much 
rood,  and  too  little  discretion.  A  hard  pull  on  an  omnibus,  or  a 
similar  feat  in  a  marketer's  wagon,  would  be  the  very  best  medi- 
cine in  the  world  for  a  plethoric  horse,  or  one  predisposed  tn 
hepatic  derangement. 

The  Pancreas  and  its  Function. 

The  pancreas  is  a  glandular  body  lying  across  the  spine,  in  the 
epigastric  region,  underneath  the  diaphragm,  near  the  small  curv- 
ature of  the  stomach.  The  body  of  this  gland  is  pierced  by  the 
vena  porta  (known  as  the  gate  rein) ;  has  one  attachment  to  the 
spleen,  and  another  to  the  left  kidney.  It  is  divided  into  head, 
body,  and  tail.  Structure,  similar  to  salivary  glands.  Color, 
pale  red,  speckled.  It  is  composed  of  many  lobules.  Every  lobe 
has  a  distinct  set  of  nerves,  arteries,  veins,  and  ducts.  Every  lobe 
is,  therefore,  considered  as  a  distinct  gland,  and  the  same  is  true 
of  the  salivary  glands.  The  duct  pierces  the  duodenum  (knewn 
as  the  second  stomach),  alongside  of  the  hepatic  duct, 

The  pancreatic  arteries  are  derived  mostly  from  the  hepatic. 
Several,  however,  come  from  the  splenic,  in  its  course  to  the  lert 
side  of  the  abdomen,  and  one  or  two  from  the  gastric.  The  veins 
are  tributary  to  the  vena  porta.  The  nerves  come  from  the  c&liae 
plexus.  The  fluid  secreted  by  the  pancreas  is  a  colorless,  limpid 
fluid.  It  forms  an  emulsion  of  fat  j  hence  it  dissolves  the  fatty 
matters  of  the  food.  It  is  an  active  agent  in  the  preparation  of 
chyle.  That  the  pancreatic  juice  possesses  the  property  of  emul- 
sifying fat  is  proved  from  the  fact  that  when  the  pancreas  is 
destroyed,  and  the  animal  fed  on  food  containing  fatty  matter,  the 
latter  passes  with  the  feces,  just  like  fat  in  an  unchanged  state. 

Mr.  Gamgee  says:  "  The  pancreatic  juice  has  another  impor- 
tant use  which  remains  to  be  spoken  of,  and  that  is  a  peculiai 
action  on  nitrogenized  substances.  If  raw  meat  be  placed  in 
soma  of  the  juice,  the  meat  speedily  softens  and  putrefies.  The 
same  occurs  with  albumen  or  caseine  in  the  raw  state ;  but  if  the 
azotized  principles  are  previously  boiled,  or  acted  upon  by  the 
ga=tric  juice,  the  pancreatic  therefore  serves  many  purposes,  and 
acts  on  every  kind  of  aliment. 

Circumstances  aifecting  the  digestive  function  in  general  have  a 
special  influence  on  the  pancreas,  and  modify  its  secretion.     Such 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  217 

is  not  the  case  with  the  salivary  glands  and  their  products.  The 
pnncreatic  juice  may,  like  every  other  secretion,  be  found  to  con- 
tain adventitious  substances  that  have  accidentally  entered  the 
blood.  Thus,  iodide  of  potassium  may  be  eliminated  from  the 
system  by  the  pancreas.  It  is  not  so  with  every  salt,  the  prussiate 
of  pot-ash,  for  example,  never  being  seen  in  the  pancreatic  juice. 

The  pancreatic  secretion  is  formed  during  infra-uterine  life,  bur 
we  are  at  a  loss  to  account  for  its  uses  there.  It  is  difficult  to  de- 
termine what  nervous  influences  affects  its  production.  A  dose  of 
ether  excites  it,  and  pressure  on  the  abdominal  viscera  likewise 
tends  to  its  increase ;  the  efforts  of  vomiting  stop  it." 

Worms  or  Parasites  which  infest  the  Intestinal  Canal. 

There  are  various  forms  of  parasites  which  infest  the  alimentary 
canal  of  horses  and  cattle  which,  no  doubt,  are  the  cause  of  some 
annoyance  to  the  infested ;  but  really  they  are  not,  at  all  times,  so 
injurious  as  some  writers  make  them  out  to  be.  They  are  rarelv 
if  ever  found  in  the  intestines  of  healthy  animals,  and  their  pres- 
ence is  generally  due  to  a  deranged  condition  of  the  digestive 
organs.     They  very  frequently  originate  spontaneously. 

"  Certain  independent  organisms,  both  vegetable  and  animal, 
are  found  in  the  body.  The  vegetable  growths  are  all  microscopic, 
and  belong  to  the  lowest  order  of  plants,  the  algaa  and  fungi. 
They  are  never  met  with  except  upon  cutaneous  or  mucous  sur- 
faces, nor  while  these  surfaces  remain  healthy,  usually.  A  secre- 
tion of  fibrine  or  mucus,  undergoing  decomposition,  forms  the  soil 
in  which  they  grow.  In  some  cases,  they  are  believed  to  be  the 
media  of  contagion. 

Animal  parasites  are  very  numerous.  Many  of  them  are  in- 
fusorial. Many  belong  to  the  class  of  insects  and  mites,  as  fleas, 
lice,  bugs,  and  the  acari,  of  which  the  most  important  one  is  the 
itch-mite.  A  class  of  higher  consequence  comprises  several  sort  9 
of  worms.  Those  which  infest  the  intestinal  canal  are  extremely 
common,  and  are  the  oxguris  vermicularis,  or  thread-worm,  which 
inhabits  the  rectum ;  the  trichocephalus  dispar,  or  long  thread- 
worm, which  is  found  in  the  large  intestine,  and  especially  in  the 
caecum ;  the  ascares  lumbricoedes,  or  round  worm,  whose  ordinary 
residence  is  the  small  intestine;  the  tape-worm,  or  taenia,  which 
ulso  affects  the  same  part.     The  kidney  is  occasionally  the  seat  of 


218  DADDS  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

a  round  worm,  called  ths  strongylus  gigas,  measuring  from  fi\€ 
inches  to  three  feet  in  length,  and  from  two  to  six  lines  in  thick- 
ness. 

The  diseases  with  which  even  large  intestinal  worms  are  con- 
nected appear  to  be  sometimes  the  cause  and  sometimes  the  effect 
of  the  presence  of  these  parasites.  Very  often  they  exist  in  con- 
siderable numbers  without  producing  the  least  disturbance  of  tho 
economy,  but  in  other  cases  they  are  unquestionably  the  cause  of 
much  suffering  and  ill-health.  How  far  they  are  themselves  the 
result  of  a  morbid  state  of  the  organs  in  which  they  appear  is 
still  an  undecided  question. 

The  origin  of  parasites  is  extremely  obscure,  and  has  long  been 
a  mooted  point  among  naturalists.  It  may  not  be  inappropriate 
to  present  a  summary  of  the  opinions  which  are  entertained  respect- 
ing a  subject  of  so  much  interest,  but,  in  doing  so,  we  shall  confine 
our  remarks  to  the  parasitic  animals  which  inhabit  the  interior  of 
the  body,  or  entozoa. 

It  is  evident  that  these  animals  must  originate  in  one  of  two 
ways ;  that  they  must  be  derived  directly  or  indirectly  from  with- 
out, or  be  created  out  of  materials  existing  within,  and  furnished 
by,  the  body.  No  other  supposition  is  possible.  If  an  entozoon 
is  in  any  manner  derived  from  without,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
this  takes  place  either  through  the  reception  of  the  animal  itself 
or  of  its  ova.  If  either  opinion  be  assumed,  it  follows  that  the 
parent  animal  must  exist  somewhere  external  to  the  body.  But 
the  parasites  in  question  have  never,  in  any  case  whatever,  been 
detected  except  within  the  organism.  If  it  is  objected  that  many 
of  these  animals  are  so  minute  that  they  might  easily  elude  dis- 
covery in  the  elements  around  us,  the  argument  fails  when  applied 
to  the  giant  strongylus,  the  stout  lumbricoid  worm,  and  the  taenia, 
measuring  many  yards  in  length.  Besides,  even  admitting  for  a 
moment  the  possibility  of  the  parasites  which  inhabit  the  intes- 
tine, and  other  mucous  cavities,  having  once  existed  externally, 
the  insuperable  difficulty  still  remains  of  explaining  the  entrance 
of  entozoa  into  shut  cavities  and  parenchymatous  structures — into 
tin  eye,  or  the  muscles,  for  example,  and  their  presence  in  the 
unborn  child,  and  even  in  the  bodies  of  larger  entozoa  of  a  differ- 
ent species.  On  the  other  hand,  if  it  is  maintained  that  the  ova 
are  alcne  received,  it  must  still  be  shown  that  the  ova  exist  exter- 
nal to  the  bodv.  which   has   never  been  done.     Nor  would  th* 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  215* 

admissii  n  of  this  explanation  be  sufficient ;  for  many  of  the  entozo3 
are  not  propagated  by  eggs,  but  belong  to  the  viviparous  class, 
so  that  in  regard  to  them  the  difficulty  remains  undiminished. 
But  granting  the  existence  of  ova  without,  and  their  reception  into 
the  body,  it  is  still  impossible  to  explain  the  development  from 
them  of  the  animals  found  in  the  parenchyma,  in  the  embryo,  etc., 
without,  at  the  same  time,  admitting  that  the  ova  are  not  only 
carried  to  these  localities  through  the  blood-vessels,  but  actually 
jass  through  the  walls  of  the  capillaries.  Such  an  admission 
would  be  a  physiological  absurdity;  for  the  extreme  vessels  will 
allow  of  the  passage  of  a  single  blood-globule  at  a  time,  and  no 
more,  and  will  not  permit  any  denser  fluid  than  the  plasma  of  the 
blood  to  permeate  their  walls.  How,  then,  could  they  afford  a 
passage  in  any  manner  to  ova,  the  least  of  which  is  ten  times  as 
large  as  a  blood  globule? 

If  the  hypothesis  now  presented  is  untenable,  it  only  remains 
to  adopt  the  alternative  one,  to- wit :.  that  entozoa  are  generated  or 
created  anew  out  of  the  materials  or  the  products  of  the  living 
organism.  It  may  be  urged  affirmatively,  in  support  of  this  doc- 
trine, that  each  organ  possesses  its  own  entozoa — the  kidney,  a 
species  different  from  those  of  the  intestine,  which  are,  again,  un- 
like the  parasites  of  the  liver.  Even  more :  the  several  parts  of 
the  same  organ  generate  dissimilar  animals.  The  small  intestine 
produces  the  round  and  the  tape-worms ;  the  large  intestine,  the 
two  species  of  thread- worms.  These  facts  seem  to  show  that  some 
extremely  local  concurrence  of  circumstances  is  essential  to  thp 
production  of  the  several  entozoa.  It  may  also  be  argued,  and  we 
think  the  argument  unanswerable,  that  if  spermatic  animalcules, 
which  exist  in  the  testicle,  are  there  spontaneously  generated,  no 
violence  is  done  to  probability  in  supposing  parasitic  animals  to 
be  produced  in  the  same  manner.  It  will  hardly  be  denied  that 
spermatozoa  are  literally  evolved  from  the  constituents  of  the 
semen ;  but  it  is  objected  to  the  doctrine  of  spontaneous  generation 
that  it  is  against  analogy,  which  every-where  supports  the  famous 
dogma,  omne  vivum  ex  ovo.  This  objection  is  a  mere  begging  of 
the  question.  The  decision  of  the  case  in  hand  involves  the  truth 
of  the  theory  just  quoted,  and,  as  we  believe,  must  be  allowed  to 
show  that  this  theory  is  not  absolutely  universal  in  its  application. 
Other  facts,  also,  among  which  are  the  following,  tend  to  invali- 
date it.     Xothing  can  be  more  certain  than  that  all  organized 


220  DADD'S   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

beings  were,  at  some  time  or  other,  created.  Geology  proves  that 
successive  genera  and  species  have  been  thus  created,  at  long  in- 
tervals apart;  and  the  history  of  disease  renders  it  probable  that 
one  affection,  at  least  (syphilis),  which  is  only  propagated  by  direct 
descent,  ex  ovo,  as  it  were,  is  really  of  comparatively  recent  origin. 

In  conclusion,  after  the  review  of  the  preceding  outline  of  an 
argument  upon  the  generation  of  parasitic  entozoa,  we  feel  obliged 
to  admit  that  the  weight  of  facts  and  probabilities  is  wholly  on 
the  side  of  the  doctrine  of  spontaneous  generation.  At  the  same 
time,  we  can  not  but  look  with  interest  to  the  results  of  future 
observations  in  this  field,  nor  altogether  suppress  the  hope  that 
the  simple  law  of  Nature,  omne  vivum  ex  ovo,  may  even  yet  be 
found  to  embrace  the  classes  which  now  appear  to  form  so  striking 
an  exception  to  its  provisions."* 

Symptoms. — The  usual  symptoms  indicating  the  presence  of 
worms  in  the  intestinal  canal  are,  sometimes,  a  scurfy,  yellow  mu- 
cous accumulation  around  the  margin  of  the  anus ;  the  appetite 
is  not  uniform ;  the  bowels  are  irregular,  sometimes  loose,  and 
sometimes  constipated ;  and  the  feces  are  often  shrouded  with 
shreds  of  mucus,  of  a  yellow  color.  When  ascarides  are  present 
(located  in  the  rectum),  the  horse  is  much  inclined  to  rub  his  tail 
against  any  post  or  fence  he  can  get  at,  and  he  employs  himself 
at  such  feats  against  the  sides  of  the  stall,  in  view,  probably,  of 
allaying  the  intolerable  itching  which  usually  attends  the  preserjee 
of  these  parasites. 

The  lumbrici,  or  round  worms,  sometimes  exist  in  the  intes- 
tines in  great  numbers.  They  are  then  apt  to  be  hurtful.  In 
such  cases,  the  coat  looks  unthrifty,  and  the  hair  has  lost  its  na- 
tural glossiness,  and  appears  rough  to  the  sense  of  touch.  It  has 
been  noticed,  also,  that  when  horses  are  afflicted  with  intestinal 
parasites,  their  breath  gives  out  a  fetid  odor,  and  they  have  a  sort 
of  dry,  hacking  cough.  It  is  well  known,  however,  that  some 
horses,  enjoying,  apparently,  the  very  best  kind  of  health,  are  often 
the  subjects  of  worms. 

Treatment. — Most  of  the  remedies  recommended  in  the  ancient 
works  on  farriery  are  just  about  as  likely  to  kill  the  horse  as  the 
parasites,  and  :onsequently  are,  to  say  the  least,  unsafe.  The  true 
theory  is  thl  .  worms  are  the  result  of  indigestion;  hence  our 

*Stille's  "  Elements  of  Pathology." 


DISEASES  OF  THE  DIGESTIVE  ORGANS.  221 

object,  by  way  of  prevention,  is  to  give  tone  to  the  digestive  or- 
gans ;  and  soon  after  the  worms  have  congregated  in  the  intestinal 
-canal,  bitter  tonics  and  alteratives  are  obnoxious  to  them.  They 
then  die,  are  digested,  and  pass  from  the  anus  as  fecal  matter. 

Suppose  we  give  the  infested  horse  powerful  purges,  tartar 
emetic,  calomel,  turpentine,  etc.,  as  the  books  recommend.  We 
may  succeed  in  their  expulsion,  but  that  does  not  mend  the  mat- 
ter for  the  agents  just  named  are  all  more  or  less  prostrating, 
and  create  a  worse  state  of  digestive  derangement  than  that  which 
previously  existed,  and  soon,  by  virtue  of  spontaneous  generation, 
a  new  crop  of  parasites  make  their  appearance. 

When  a  horse  shows  any  of  the  symptoms  here  alluded  to,  in- 
dicating indigestion,  or  the  actual  presence  of  worms,  I  recommend 
that  an  occasional  dose  of  the  following  be  given : 

No.  27.  Powdered  poplar  bark  (populus  tremuloides).  ~\ 

Powdered  sulphur [  equal  parte. 

Powdered  salt 

Mix. 


Dose,  one  table-opoonful,  to  be  mixed  with  bran  or  oats. 


EXAMPLES    OF    VEEMIFUGES. 

No.  1. — Fluid  extract  of  wormwood,  four  drachms ;  to  be  given 
in  the  morning,  before  feeding  time,  for  several  successive  days. 

Xo.  2. — Give  one  ounce  of  fluid  extract  of  pink-root,  every 
morning,  before  feeding,  for  a  week. 


A   GOOD    REMEDY    FOB    THE    TAPE-WORM. 


Give  four  drachms  of  the  solid  extract  of  male  fern  (aspidium 
felix  mas)  every  other  morning,  during  a  period  of  about  ten  days. 
This  is  said  to  be  a  specific  for  tape- worm. 

Finally,  as  regards  the  treatment  of  worms,  Nature  has  endoweJ 
these  parasites  with  such  tenacity  of  life,  that  no  matters  knowr 
to  us  will  effect  their  destruction,  though  a  few  may  answer  tht> 
purpose  of  their  expulsion.  Bots  are  so  hardy  as  apparently  to 
survive  immersion  in  oil,  in  alcohol,  spirits  of  turpentine,  and 
even  powerful  solutions  of  mineral  acids.  The  continued  use  of 
salt,  mixed  with  the  food,  appears,  however,  obnoxious  to  them ; 
for  sometimes,  under  its  use,  their  hold  gives  way,  and  they  are 
ejected      Bitters,  purgatives,    and   the    mechanical   irritation   of 


222  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDlOINiS  AND  SURGERY. 

pointed  bodies,  as  pewter,  tin,  etc.,  have  no  effect  whatever  upon 
oots ;  but  with  regard  to  the  other  parasites,  rather  more  success 
mav  be  expected  from  medical  aid,  in  the  form  of  vermifuges, 
It  nas  been  attempted  to  effect  the  removal  of  worms  mechan- 
ically, by  dissolving  the  mucus  they  are  supposed  to  be  imbedded 
m,  for  which  purpose  lime-water,  oil,  solutions  of  aloes,  etc.,  have 
been  injected  by  clyster  up  the  rectum,  and  which  practice  is  most 
to  be  depended  on  for  the  ejection  of  ascarides  when  in  the  rectum, 
'This  practice  of  washing  away  the  mucus  of  the  intestine,  and 
thus  to  deprive  the  intestine  of  the  secretion  given  for  its  protec- 
tion, is  not  to  be  recommended,  though  oil,  for  this  end,  would  be 
harmless.  Strong  purges  are  given  with  the  same  intent,  which 
may  remove  them  also  from  the  whole  alimentary  track.  Reme- 
dies have  likewise  been  exhibited  to  destroy  them  within  the 
body,  by  the  mechanical  irritation  of  their  spiculi,  under  which 
view  tin,  brass,  iron,  and  pewter  are  thought  remedial.  The  In- 
dian caustic  barley  and  Indian  pink  are  reputed  vermifuges 
against  the  teres  and  ascaris.  The  oil  of  turpentine  has  also  been 
strongly  recommended  as  an  excellent  general  vermifuge;  but, 
except  for  the  destruction  of  the  taenia,  or  tape-worm,  it  certainly 
does  not  appear  to  deserve  that  character."* 


*  "Blaine's  Outlines  " 


SECTION   VIII. 

DISEASES    OF    THE'  URINARY    ORGANS. 

Ihilammation  of  the  Kidneys — Inflammation  of  the  Bladder — Stone  in  th» 
Bladder— Suppression  of  the  Urine — Retention  of  the  Urine — Diabetes, 
or  Profuse   Stalling — Rupture  of  the  Bladder — Albuminous  Urins 
Hematuria,  or  Bloody  Urine. 


A. 


Inflammation  of  the  Kidneys  (Nephritis). 

NEPHRITIC  affection  is  often  mistaken  for  what  soma 
l\.  persons  term  "sprain  across  the  kidneys"  (lumbar  sprain). 
It  is  a  mistake  of  some  importance,  from  the  fact  that  when  sprain 
or  strain  is  suspected,  people  are  apt  to  resort  to  the  use  of  irri- 
tating embrocations  or  liniments,  which  may  do  much  harm,  as 
their  action  is  to  augment  heat  and  pain,  which,  in  case  of  ne- 
phritis, is  to  be  avoided. 

Symptoms. — Hard  and  accelerated  pulse ;  quickened  respiration, 
indicative  of  pain ;  back,  arched ;  legs,  straddling ;  the  head  ia 
often  turned  toward  the  loins,  or  region  of  pain ;  the  animal  is 
unwilling  to  describe  a  circle  with  its  body,  and,  while  the  acute 
stage  lasts,  scarcely  if  ever  gets  down  on  the  floor;  the  urine  is 
reddened  and  scanty ;  finally,  the  animal  crouches  when  pressure 
is  made  over  the  region  of  the  loins,  and,  as  is  the  case  in  all  acute 
affections,  thirst  and  loss  of  appetite  are  observable. 

Treatment — The  treatment  of  nephritis,  in  the  acute  or  inflam- 
matory stage,  is  just  such  as  would  be  proper  supposing  the  case 
to  be  one  of  enteritis,  or  peritonitis.  Twenty  or  forty  drops  of 
fluid  extract  of  gelseminum  may  be  placed  on  the  tongue  two  or 
three  times,  at  intervals  of  four  hours;  fomentations  of  hops  01 
poppy-heads  (warm)  should  be  applied  to  the  loins,  and  occa- 
sional enemas  of  warm  water  may  be  thrown  into  the  rectum. 

The  drink  sliouH  consist  of  what  is  known  as  flaxseed  or  slippery- 

(22  i) 


224  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

tlm  tea.  Soon  the  inflammatory  symptoms  will  subside,  the  patient 
will  manifest  some  relief  from  pain,  and  the  color  of  the  urine  will 
change,  become  lighter  and  thicker  in  consistence.  We  then  dis- 
continue the  above  treatment,  and  administer  one  ounce  of  fluid* 
extract  of  buchu,  morning  and  evening.  This  treatment,  aided  by 
rest  and  good  nursing,  usually  completes  the  cure. 

Should  it  be  suspected  that  the  animal  has  a  fit  of  pain,  caused 
tbv  the  "gravel,"  or  passage  or  presence  of  urinary  calculi,  then 
two  irachms  of  muriatic  acid  should  be  mixed  in  the  ordinary 
drink,  every  time  the  animal  is  watered.  He  should  also  have  a 
email  quantity  of  powdered  slippery -elm  or  flaxseed  mixed  with 
the  food.  Horses  the  subjects  of  urinary  calculi  pass  urine  which, 
on  being  caught  in  an  earthen  vessel,  deposits  phosphates  and  other 
earthy  matter.  When  this  occurs,  and  the  animal  has  a  fit  of  pain 
Dr  gravel,  we  may  infer,  in  the  absence  of  more  positive  proof,  that 
urinary  calculi  are  present  in  some  portion  of  the  urinary  apparatus. 

Inflammation  of  the  Bladder  (Cystitis). 

The  principal  symptom  of  inflammation  of  the  bladder  is  fre- 
quent urination,  accompanied  by  straining  and  pain.  Sometimes 
the  urine  dribbles  away,  involuntarily  or  not,  as  the  case  may  be. 
It  appears  that  the  least  distension  of  the  bladder  causes  pain; 
hence  the  effort  to  keep  it  empty.  The  urine  is  usually  high- 
colored,  or,  rather,  of  a  dull  red  color.  The  animal  stands  with 
his  hind  limbs  widely  separated.  The  treatment  is  precisely  the 
same  as  that  just  recommended  for  inflammation  of  the  kidneys. 

Stone  in  the  Bladder. 

One  very  remarkable  symptom  attending  the  presence  of  calcu- 
lus, or  stone  in  the  bladder,  is,  that  after  the  urine  is  voided  there 
comes  a  painful  sensation,  which  causes  the  horse  to  groan.  This 
is  caused  by  the  walls  of  the  bladder  coming  forcibly  in  contact 
with  the  calculus,  which  is  now  a  foreign  body.  Occasionally  the 
horse  is  urinating  a  full  stream,  when,  all  at  once,  the  stream  is 
suddenly  arrested,  the  animal  still  straining  until  urination  again 
commences.  This  is  a  pretty  sure  sign  of  stone  in  the  bladder. 
Stones  that  have  been  taken  from  the  bladder,  after  death,  present 
a  highly -polished  surface;  hence  they  do  not  produce  that  amount 


DISEASES  OF  THE  URINARY  OLG^NS  22ft 

of  irritation  which  proceeds  from  intestinal  calculi,  the  surfaces  of 
which  are  always  rough. 

Mr.  Yotjatt  says  that  "  the  symptoms  of  stone  in  the  bladder 
much  resemble  those  of  spasmodic  colic,  except  thai,  on  careful 
inquiry,  it  will  be  found  that  there  has  been  much  irregularity  in 
the  discharge  of  urine,  and  occasional  suppression  cf  it.  When 
fits  of  apparent  colic  frequently  return,  and  are  accompanied  by 
any  peculiarity  in  the  appearance  or  the  discharge  of  the  urine,  the 
horse  should  be  carefully  examined.  For  this  purpose,  he  must 
be  thrown.  If  there  is  stone  in  the  bladder,  it  will,  while  the 
horse  lies  on  his  back,  press  on  the  rectum.  Several  cases  have 
lately  occurred  of  successful  extraction  of  the  calculus,  but  to 
effect  this  it  is  always  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  the  aid  of  a 
veterinary  practitioner." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  cast  the  horse  in  view  of  ascertaining  the 
presence  of  calculus.  The  hand  can  be  introduced  into  the  rectum 
while  the  horse  is  standing.  The  rectum  should,  however,  first  be 
e\  acuated  by  enemas  of  warm  water.  But  we  have  a  better  plan 
than  this.  A  sound  or  jointed  catheter  has  been  invented,  which, 
when  passed  into  the  bladder,  determines,  by  percussion,  the  pres- 
ence of  calculi.  The  operation  of  lithotomy  can  only  be  performed 
by  one  skilled  in  the  science ;  yet  the  reader  may  desire  to  know 
something  about  the  mode  of  performing  it;  therefore  I  introduce 
a  case  of  the  kind,  which  occurred  in  the  practice  of  Mr.  Field. 
The  following  is  the  case : 

"The  animal  was  cast,  in  the  usual  manner,  and  both  hind 
legs  were  drawn  to  the  shoulders,  as  if  for  castration.  Read's  new 
flexible  catheter  being  passed  into  the  bladder,  a  quantity  of  warm 
water  was  injected  sufficient  to  distend  that  organ  and  the  urethra 
moderately.  The  catheter  being  withdrawn,  and  holding  the  penis 
with  the  left  hand,  a  slightly-curved  grooved  staff,  two  feet  long, 
was  introduced,  so  as  for  the  curved  part  to  come  into  the  subana] 
portion  of  the  urethra,  above  the  posterior  edge  of  the  ischium, 
extending  toward  the  sphincter  ani.  An  assistant,  kneeling  on 
the  left  side  of  the  horse,  drew  the  penis  forward  with  his  left 
hand,  and  gently  pushed  the  staff  backward  with  the  right,  at  the 
same  time  keeping  the  groove  exactly  beneath  the  raphe.  This 
elevated  the  portion  of  the  urethra  to  be  incised.  I  then  made  an 
incision,  i  line  from  and  on  the  right  side  of  the  raphe,  through 
the  sk'  and  fascia,  extending  the  length  of  from  hree  to  four 
15 


226  bAbiTS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

inches;  and,  pushing  the  penis  a  little  on  one  side,  I  gradually 
divided  the  muscular  and  spongy  portion,  and  exposed  the  mucous 
membrane  of  the  urethra,  when  the  finger  readily  detected  the 
groove  of  the  staff,  into  which  a  small  incision  was  made  sufficient 
to  admit  the  bistoire  cacMe,  following  which  with  the  index  finger 
of  the  left  hand,  the  membrane  was  divided  to  the  rectum.  Very 
little  blood  flowed,  and  the  water  of  the  urethra  gushed  out,  The 
staff  being  removed,  I  easily  introduced  the  small  forceps  thtough 
the  urethra  into  the  bladder,  and  grasped  the  stone,  a  portion  of 
which  flaked  off.  The  large  forceps  were  then  employed,  and, 
my  brother  holding  the  handles,  I  directed  the  blades  upon  the 
stone,  my  left  hand  being  in  the  rectum.  Having  placed  the 
stone  in  a  proper  position,  I  grasped  it  with  the  forceps,  and,  with 
both  hands,  gave  it  a  half-turn,  so  as  to  place  its  widest  axis  be- 
tween the  pubis  and  rectum;  and  thus,  with  a  moderate  force,  I 
gradually  and  evenly  drew  it  out,  the  neck  of  the  bladder  readily 
dilating.  Two  stitches  were  inserted  in  that  part  of  the  incision 
nearest  the  anus,  the  lower  part  being  left  to  itself." 

Suppression  op  Urine. 

Suppression  of  urine  signifies  that  condition  in  which  no  urine 
is  either  secreted  or  voided.  The  affection  is  due  to  either  func- 
tional or  organic  disease  of  the  kidneys,  or  it  is  an  accompaniment 
of  various  forms  of  disease,  and,  in  such  cases,  is  termed  functional, 
For  example,  I  lately  treated  a  horse  the  subject  of  jaundice : 
he  did  not  pass  a  drop  of  urine  for  two  days.  I  inferred  that 
the  kidneys  were  inactive,  and  did  not  secrete  urine,  therefore  he 
had  none  to  pass;  but  after  this  period,  a  slight  improvement  in 
the  disease  (jaundice)  having  taken  place,  he  urinated,  yet  at  first 
only  in  small  quantities. 

When  the  affection  comes  on  periodically,  it  indicates  organic 
lisease  of  the  kidneys,  and,  finally,  is  apt  to  prove  fatal.  Wat 
son  says  "  that  if  no  urine  be  separated  from  the  blood,  coma 
soon  supervenes,  and  death.  It  is  believed  that  these  conse- 
quences result  from  the  detention  of  urea  in  the  system.  Urea  is 
a  mere  excrement,  w.iich,  in  health,  is  removed  from  the  blood 
by  the  kidneys  as  fast  as  it  enters  that  fluid.  When  it  is  not  so 
carried  off,  it  accumulates  in  the  blood,  circulates  with  it  to  every 
part  of  the  body,  and  acts  as  a  poison,  especially  upon  the  brain. 


DISEASES   OF   THE   URINARY   ORGANS.  227 

To  render  it  thus  poisonous,  however,  its  decomposition  in  the 
blood  appears  to  be  requisite. 

This  is  one  of  the  numerous  instances  showing  that  the  carry- 
ino-  fluid  of  the  body  may  become  the  vehicle  of  disease  and  death, 
if  it  be  not  duly  purged  of  deleterious  matters  which  pertain  to 
the  unceasing  processes  of  organic  life.  If  carbonic  acid  be  nc/t 
extricated  by  the  lungs,  the  animal  functions  are  as  certainly  and 
almost  as  speedily  extinguished  by  that  gas  as  the  flame  of  a  taper 
mio-ht  be,  and  we  know  that  when  the  outlet  of  the  liver  is  shut 
up,  when  the  blood  is  not  pumped  from  the  excrementitious  bile^ 
the  powers  of  animal  life  are  weakened  and  sometimes  utterly 
and  rapidly  destroyed." 

Frequent  complaints  are  made  to  me,  by  horsemen,  that  their 
horses  do  not  urinate  sufficiently,  and  I  am  requested  to  furnish 
diuretics.  I  usually  advise  the  former  not  to  feel  alarmed,  for 
Nature  regulates  these  matters,  and,  in  time,  all  will  be  well ;  pro- 
vided, however,  good  food  is  furnished,  and  proper  care  is  taken 
of  the  animal.  The  subject  being  one  of  importance,  both  as 
regards  man  and  horse,  I  here  introduce  the  following  article 
from  Watson's  "Lectures:" 

"  Suppression  of  urine,  for  a  considerable  time,  is  not,  however, 
necessarily  and  universally  fatal.  Patients  laboring  under  the 
epidemic  cholera  would  secrete  not  a  drop  of  water  for  some  days, 
and  yet  recover.  It  was  remarkable  how  entirely  free  such  patients 
were  from  any  approach  toward  coma.  Was  the  urea  here  drained 
off  from  the  blood  in  the  enormous  and  unnatural  flux  from  the 
stomach  and  bowels?  I  think  it  probably  was;  but  chemical 
search  has  not  detected  that  substance  in  the  fluids  so  effused. 
Schmidt  thinks,  indeed,  that  it  would  be  found  but  for  its  rapid 
decomposition  into  carbonate  of  ammonia.  There  are,  however, 
some  very  singular  instances  on  record  of  persons  who  have  passed 
days  and  even  weeks  without  secreting  urine,  and  without  show- 
ing any  other  indication  of  impaired  health.  What  degree  of 
credit  such  narratives  deserve  I  do  not  know ;  but  assuming  that 
there  was  neither  fraud  nor  mistake,  it  may  be  suspected  that 
either  the  natural  secretion  was  compensated  by  some  vicarious 
or  supplemental  discharge,  or  that  a  small  quantity  of  urine  was 
actually  separated  by  the  kidneys.  '  If  any  water,  however  small 
the  quantity/  remarks  Sir  Henry  Halford,  'had  been  made  in 
these  cases,  I  should  have  thought  it  possible  that  the  patient 


228  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

might  have  recovered ;  for  it  has  often  surprised  me  to  observe 
how  small  has  been  the  measure  of  that  excrement  itious  fluid 
which  the  frame  has  sometimes  thrown  off,  and  yet  preserved 
itself  harmless.  But  the  cessation  of  the  excretion  altogethei  is 
universally  a  fatal  symptom  in  my  experience,  being  followed  by 
oppression  on  the  brain.'  The  same  eminent  physician  states  that 
in  three  of  his  five  cases  there  was  observed  a  remarkably  strong 
urinous  smell  in  the  perspiration  for  twenty-four  hours  before 
death.  This  I  believe  is  of  common  occurrence  in  such  cases. 
Other  patients  have  vomited,  or  passed  by  the  bowels,  watery 
matters  possessing  some  of  the  sensible  qualities  of  urine ;  and  a 
urinous  fluid  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  the  ventricles  of  the 
brain  in  some  of  the  fatal  cases. 

I  have  spoken  of  suppression  of  urine  as  a  malady,  though  it 
probably  is  never  any  thing  more  than  a  symptom;  yet  it  is  one 
of  those  symptoms  which,  from  our  uncertainty  respecting  their 
origin  and  determining  cause,  we  are  obliged  to  treat  and  to  study 
as  if  they  were  substantive  diseases.  In  the  only  well-marked 
instance  that  I  have  seen  of  suppression  of  urine  coming  on  in  an 
apparently  healthy  person,  some  blood  had  appeared  in  the  urine 
for  a  day  or  two  before  the  secretion  was  totally  suspended,  and 
the  kidneys  were  found  gorged  with  blood.  Extreme  congestion 
or  inflammation  of  the  substance  of  the  gland  is  probably  at  the 
bottom  of  many  of  these  cases.  The  same  train  of  symptoms 
supervenes  not  unfrequently  upon  organic  renal  disease.  They 
happen,  too,  sometimes,  when  the  ureters  become  impervious  from 
disease,  or  from  impacted  gravel.  In  this  condition  urine  con- 
tinues to  be  secreted,  for  a  time  at  least,  and  distends  the  ureter 
behind  the  seat  of  the  obstruction.  The  apoplectic  state  which 
ensues  may  arise  from  a  reabsorption  of  the  secreted  fluid ;  or,  in 
consequence  of  the  obstacle,  the  secretion  itself,  after  going  to  a 
certain  point,  may  stop,  and  then  the  case  becomes  a  case  of  sup- 
pression." 

Treatment. — Persons  desirous  of  administering  medicine  for  the 
treatment  of  this  affection,  are  advised  to  give  half  an  ounce  of 
powdered  chlorate  of  potass,  dissolved  in  the  drink,  every  night, 
and  half  an  ounce  of  fluid  extract  of  buchu  every  morning. 


diseases  of  this  urinary  organs,  229 

Retention  of  Urine. 

Retention  and  suppression  of  urine  are  terms  very  often  con- 
founded with  each  other.  We  have  just  shown  what  is  n  eant  by 
suppression,  and  now  it  remains  for  us  to  understand  the  true  na- 
ture of  retention.  Retention  signifies  an  undue  delay  of  natural 
discharges.  The  secretion  of  urine  may  be  active  as  ever,  yet  the 
animal  has  not  the  power  to  void  it.  The  bladder  soon  becomes 
distended  beyond  its  physiological  capacity.  Its  muscular  fibers 
are  overstretched,  and  thus  have  not  the  power  to  contract  again 
until  the  fluid  is  evacuated  by  means  of  the  catheter ;  hence  the 
treatment  of  such  a  case  as  this  pertains  more  to  the  art  of  sur- 
gery than  that  of  medicine. 

Treatment. — In  most  of  these  cases  we  find  the  neck  of  the  blad- 
der spasmodically  contracted.  The  spasm  may  be  either  primary 
or  it  may  accompany  spasmodic  colic,  which  is  often  the  case.  In 
fact  some  animals,  when  suffering  from  retention  of  urine,  act  just 
as  if  they  had  colic;  hence  it  is,  in  such  cases,  highly  necessary 
that  the  bladder  be  examined  by  introducing  a  hand  into  the 
rectum.  By  this  means,  should  the  bladder  be  distended,  it  can 
easily  be  discovered.  The  catheter  must  then  be  introduced,  or 
the  animal  will  die  from  rupture  of  the  bladder.  Provided  no 
catheter  should  be  at  hand,  I  should  throw  into  the  rectum  copi- 
ous enemas  of  warm  water,  and  administer  one  or  two  ounces  of 
tincture  of  assafetida  as  an  antispasmodic,  which  may  possibly 
have  the  desired  effect. 

Diabetes,  or  Profuse  Stalling. 

Many  veterinary  writers  contend  that  diabetes  is  caused  by  tne 
administration  of  diuretics,  or  else  in  consequence  of  improper 
food.  In  some  instances  this  may  be  true.  Errors  of  this  kind 
may  produce  an  excessive  flow  of  urine,  but  this  does  not  consti- 
tute diabetes. 

Symj)toms. — The  characteristic  symptom  of  diabetes  is  a  most 
remarkable  change  in  the  quality  of  the  urine.  It  becomes  loaded 
with  sugar.  It  has  been  found  that  in  true  diabetes  the  urine  is 
never  without  sugar.  The  most  ready  test  for  sugar  i-n  urine  is 
as  follows:  Invert  a  test-tube,  filled  with  urine,  to  which  a  small 
quantity  of  yeast  has  been  added,  into  a  saucer,  also  containing 


230  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

urine ;  set  the  mixture  in  a  warm  place,  and,  if  sugar  be  present,, 
fermentation  will  soon  commence,  and  carbonic  acid  rising  in  the 
tube  will  depress  the  upper  surface  of  the  urine. 

Very  few  experiments  have  ever  been  made  on  the  diabetic 
urine  of  horses ;  but  large  quantities  of  saccharine  matters  have 
been  obtained  from  the  diabetic  urine  of  man,  by  a  process  of 
evaporation.  Watson  tells  us,  in  his  "Lectures,"  that  he  haa 
■seen  large  flat  cakes  of  beautifully  crystallized  diabetic  sugar. 
"  It  differs  somewhat  from  common  sugar,  the  produce  of  the 
sugar-cane,  and  approaches  more  nearly  to  the  sugar  of  grapes. 
This  kind  of  sugar,  which  may  also  be  produced  artificiaLy  from 
starch,  chemists  have  named  glucose.  By  rapid  evaporation  of 
the  water,  a  thick  syrup  is  produced,  resembling  treacle ;  but  Dr. 
Macintyre,  who  has  presented  to  our  hospital  museum  some  very 
fine  specimens  of  this  sugar,  prepared  by  Dr.  Blandford,  informs 
me  that  to  get  it  well  crystallized,  the  evaporation  in  a  steam- 
bath  should  be  stopped  while  the  urine  is  of  thin  consistence.  It 
may  be  quickly  reduced  to  one-half,  perhaps,  of  its  original  quan- 
tity; then  it  should  be  set  aside,  in  shallow  plates,  and  in  the 
course  often  days  or  a  fortnight  the  sugar  will  be  deposited." 

An  animal  the  subject  of  diabetes  is  usually  very  thirsty.  The 
urine  is  light-colored,  almost  transparent.  It  has  not  the  ordi- 
nary odor  of  common  urine,  but  something  like  musty  hay. 

Treatment. — The  indications  in  the  treatment  of  this  affectior 
are,  to  give  tone  to  the  system  and  sustain  the  general  health.  A 
drachm  or  two  of  the  sulphate  of  iron  may  be  occasionally  mixed 
with  the  oats  (the  latter  must  be  of  the  best  quality),  and  one 
ounce  of  the  fluid  extract  of  buchu  may  be  given  every  night  * 
Good  wholesome  food  and  an  occasional  drink  of  slippery-elm 
tea  are  also  indicated.  Should  the  disease  not  yield  to  such  treat- 
ment as  this,  the  case  may  be  considered  incurable. 

Cause. — In  regard  to  the  cause  of  diabetes,  very  little  is  known ; 
but,  to  set  the  matter  right  in  the  minds  of  some  who  believe  that 
nothing  but  diuretics  and  inferior  provender  excite  it,  I  offer  the 
following  quotation  from  the  pen  of  the  author  just  named.  I 
think,  however,  that  bad  food  is  most  likely  to  produce  diabetes. 


*  The  buchu  is  not  a  direct  diuretic,  like  resin  or  niter;  therefore  it  may  be 
given  with  safety.  It  acts  as  a  tonic  and  sudorific,  and  operates  physiologically 
»n  the  kidneys. 


uiSEASJSa  OF  THE  URINARY  ORGANS.  2ol 

"  It  is  probable  enough  that  the  exeiting  cause  of  diabetes  mav 
sometimes  lie  in  the  digestive  organs,  as  Mr.  McGregor  supposed 
The  results  of  his  experiments  do  not  conflict  with  M.  Bernard's. 
Mr.  McGregor,  you  may  remember,  found  sugar  in  the  partly- 
digested  food  brought  up  from  the  stomach  of  a  diabetic  patient. 
He  detected  it  also  in  the  saliva;  and  in  the  feces,  which,  when 
allowed  to  dry  spontaneously,  became  covered,  after  the  lapse  of 
some  time,  with  distinct  crystals  of  sugar.    And  yeast  having  been 
administered  to  two  diabetic  patients,  in  ounce  doses,  after  each 
meal,  had  soon  to  be  discontinued,  because  the  patients,  to  use  their 
own  expressions,  felt  as  if  they  '  were  on  the  eve  of  being  blown 
up.'     There  being  sugar  in  the  blood,  we  need  not  be  surprised 
that  he  met  with  it  in  the  gastric  and  intestinal  secretions  from 
the  blood.     Dr.  Harley  has  observed  that  by  injecting  irritating 
matters  into  the  portal  vein,  (ammonia,  ether,  chloroform,  alcohol,) 
a  saccharine  condition  of  the  urine  may  be  artificially  produced. 
It  is  conjectured  that  these  substances  act  upon  fibers  of  the  pneu- 
mogastric  nerve,  whence  an  impression  is  transmitted  to  the  nerv- 
ous centers,  and  thence  is  again  reflected  upon  the  liver  through 
the  splanchnic  nerves.     It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  that  irritat- 
ing substances  may  find  their  way  into  the  portal  blood  through 
a  faulty  digestion,  or  through  the  use  of  certain  kinds  of  food  or 
of  medicine.     Again  :  since  contrived  irritation  of  the  brain  at  the 
origin  of  the  pneumogastric  nerves  will  make  the  urine  saccharine, 
the  cause  of  diabetes  in  the  human  subject  may  reasonably  be  placed, 
in  some  instances,  within  the  skull;  and  we  may  understand  how 
injuries  or  diseases  of  the  brain,  or  even  mental  disquiet  and  de- 
jection, operating  through  the  brain,  may  produce  it.    Some  strik- 
ing cases  have  been  published  by  Dr.  Goolden,  in  which  head 
symptoms  were  accompanied  by  saccharine  urine,  and  in  which 
the  diabetic  symptoms  were  checked  or  removed  by  remedies  ad- 
dressed to  the  head  affection — by  blisters  especially,  and  by  pur- 
gatives.    Nay,  we  may  ask  whether  there  may  not,  in  fact,  be  two 
varieties  of  diabetes  mellitus,  in  one  of  which  the  animal  and  in 
the  other  the  vegetable  form  of  sugar  may  be  present  in  the  urine, 
and  whether  the  one  of  these  varieties  may  not  be  more  hopeful 
of  cure  or  recovery  than  the  other.     Bearing  in  mind  the  name 
and  the  distribution  of  the  pneumogastric  nerve,  may  we  not  in- 
flulge  the  conjecture  that  disease  or  injury  of  the  brain  near  the 
origin  of  that  nerve  may  directly  affect  the  functions  of  the  stom- 


232  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

aeh,  and  thus  prevent  its  digestive  power,  or  the  functions  oi  the 
lungs,  and  thus  interfere  with  the  chemical  destruction  of  sugar 
in  those  organs  ?  This  last  notion  might  seem  to  receive  support 
from  the  frequent  association  of  pulmonary  disease  or  disorder  with 
saccharine  urine." 


EUPTURE  OF  THE  BLADDER. 

It  is  well  known  that  rupture  of  the  bladder  may  arise  from 
overdistension  with  urine ;  yet  it  may  occur  from  other  causes, 
as  the  following  article,  contributed  by  Dr.  C.  M.  Wood,  will 
show : 

"September  1. — My  subject  was  a  bay  horse,  seven  years  old,  in 
high  condition ;  that  is,  fat.  On  inquiry,  I  was  informed,  by  the 
man  who  had  the  care  of  him,  that  when  he  entered  the  stable, 
at  four  o'clock,  A.  M.,  he  found  the  horse  rolling  and  tumbling, 
and  in  great  pain.  I  asked,  What  has  the  horse  been  doing  ?  and 
was  answered  that,  having  fallen  into  other  hands,  he  had  done 
little  more  than  merely  exercise  for  the  past  four  months.  On 
examination,  the  following  symptoms  were  observed:  The  ani- 
mal was  standing,  with  the  near  fore  extremity  raised  and  extended, 
and  in  the  act  of  pawing,  but  he  did  not  disturb  his  bedding.  He 
would  suddenly  place  one  foot  down  and  raise  the  opposite  one, 
when  he  would  continue  to  paw,  in  like  manner,  for  two  or  three 
minutes.  He  would  then  cease  pawing,  and  extend  himself  in  his 
stall,  with  the  head  elevated,  and  a  fixed  stare,  as  if  in  the  act  of 
urinating.  He  would  then  perhaps  lie  down  at  full  length  in  his 
stall,  or  throw  his  head  back  upon  his  side,  and  remain  in  this 
position  a  few  minutes ;  would  again  rise  and  commence  pawing, 
as  before.  AVhen  standing,  his  hind  extremities  were  wide  apart. 
His  pulse  was  forty-two;  mouth,  hot,  but  moist;  the  visible  mu- 
cous surfaces  slightly  injected ;  his  respiration  little  disturbed  ;  in 
fact,  his  symptoms  were  not  violent.  I  gave  an  antispasmodic 
drench,  and  left  him.  At  eight,  A.  M.,  again  visited  my  patient 
Found  him  standing,  apparently  relieved,  yet  he  occasionally  man 
ifested  slight  symptoms  of  a  kind  of  dull  abdominal  pain.  His 
bowels  being  costive,  I  gave  him  one  ounce  of  cathartic  mass,  ona 
drachm  of  calomel,  and  half  a  drachm  of  pulverized  opium,  in  a 
ball.  At  noon  he  was  still  the  same.  Ordered  him  a  bran-maal., 
which  he  did  not  eat;  nor  did  he  drink.     Gave  an  enema,  rtn:* 


DISEASES  OF  THE  URINARY  ORGANS.  233 

alated  the  abdomen,  and  left  him.  Six,  P.  M. — He  has  laid  down 
quietly  for  two  hours ;  stands  easy,  but  neither  eats  nor  drinks. 
Nine,  P.  M. — Still  the  same;  lies  down  occasionally.  When 
standing,  paws  considerably.  Has  had  no  evacuation  of  the  bow- 
els or  of  the  urinary  passages  since  the  man  discovered  that  the 
animal  was  sick.  Examined  the  rectum,  but  found  no  feces  therein. 
Gave  half  a  drachm  each  of  Venice  turpentine  and  copaiba,  in  an 
infusion  of  linseed ;  gave  also  an  enema,  and  left  him  for  the  night, 
leaving  a  pail  of  water  in  the  manger  before  him. 

September  2,  six  o'clock,  A.  M. — On  entering  the  stable,  my 
patient  appeared  much  the  same  as  when  I  left  him  the  previous 
evening.  I  inquired  how  he  had  been  during  the  night.  The 
groom  informed  me  that  'he  had  remained  easy  until  about  one 
o'clock,  when  he  commenced  pawing,  as  before,  but  without  touch- 
ing his  bedding;  that  he  would  lie  down  for  a  few  minutes  quite 
easy,  when  he  would  throw  himself  at  full  length  in  his  Stall,  and 
remain  in  that  position  a  short  time;  then  rise  up  and  extend 
himself,  as  if  to  relieve  the  urinary  passages,  but  only  a  few  drops 
dribbled  away,  as  usual.'  As  usual?  said  I.  Have  you  never 
observed  any  difficulty  in  his  making  water  before  ?  He  answered, 
'I  have  taken  care  of  this  horse  for  over  two  years,  and  have 
never  seen  him  make  more  than  a  wine-glassful  of  water  at  any 
one  time.  He  passed  a  little  every  ten  or  fifteen  minutes.  His 
stall  was  constantly  wet,  but  I  have  never  seen  any  trouble  on 
account  of  it.'  This  statement  was  fully  corroborated  by  several 
ether  persons.  I  now  examined  my  patient  per  rectum,  and  found 
the  bladder  empty.  Upon  introducing  the  catheter  not  a  drop  of 
urine  was  obtained,  nor  even  could  the  odor  of  urine  be  detected 
on  the  catheter.  I  now  concluded  that  he  had  a  ruptured  bladder, 
and  gave  up  all  hopes  of  his  recovery.  However,  from  the  pain 
at  intervals,  and  apparent  relief  of  the  animal  occasionally,  I  di- 
rected my  treatment  to  the  kidneys  and  bladder,  by  giving  oilj 
laxatives,  emollient  enemas,  and  counter-irritation,  in  the  hope, 
not  of  cure,  but  of  palliation,  and  each,  in  turn,  gave  relief  for  a 
short  time.  Nine,  P.  M. — Have  seen  my  patient  several  times 
during  the  day.  His  symptoms  increasing  in  frequency  and  vio- 
lence. Pulse,  sixty-six ;  respiration,  hurried  ;  body  and  extremi- 
ties, still  warm.  He  paws,  rolls,  and  tumbles  violently.  Gave 
an  enema,  which  had  the  effect  to  remove  the  content"  of  the  rec- 
tum, consisting  of  four  or  five  small  pellets  of  feces,  covered  with 


234  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

mucus.  He  nov?,  for  the  first  time,  drank  six  or  seven  swallows 
of  water,  but  had  no  desire  for  food.  I  ordered  a  pail  of  water 
to  be  placed  before  him,  and  that  a  man  should  watch  him  during 
the  night. 

September  3,  six,  A.  M. — Has  drank  the  water.  Still  paws, 
lies  down,  suddenly  rises,  paws  again,  and  thus  continues.  The 
body  is  still  warm ;  he  is  not  at  all  violent,  his  pain  being,  as  it 
were,  dull ;  the  abdomen  rapidly  increasing  in  size.  Nine,  P.  M.— 
Have  seen  my  patient  several  times  since  morning.  See  no  pos- 
sible chance  for  recovery.  His  respiration  is  quick  and  laborious ; 
pulse,  seventy-four ;  visible  mucous  surfaces  highly  injected ;  head 
and  neck  bedewed  with  a  cold,  clammy  perspiration  j  tremor  of 
the  fore  extremities ;  still  paws,  but  does  not  lie  down.  He  puts 
his  nose  in  the  bucket,  plays  with  the  water  in  it,  but  does  not 
drink.  Abdomen  appears  to  increase  in  size.  Notwithstanding 
every  me%ns  was  used  for  his  relief,  the  symptoms  continued  to 
increase  in  severity,  and  he  died  at  one  o'clock,  A.  M.,  on  the 
fourth. 

Made  an  examination  thirty-six  hours  after  death,  the  knacker 
neglecting  to  remove  the  horse  before.     On   opening  the  abdo- 
men the  following  appearances  were  visible :  A  slight  blush  of 
inflammation  pervaded  the  whole  of  the  intestinal  canal.     Ex- 
treme distention  of  the  caecum  and  colon,  but  their  contents  were 
pultacious.     The  bladder  quite  empty,  and  contracted  at  its  cervix 
'  into  firm  rugoe ;  in  substance  its  walls  thickened  to  half  an  inch ; 
its  apex  bore  marks  of  ulceration,  with  a  rupture  of  one  and  a  half 
inches  through  its  parieties.     Had  it  not  been  ruptured,  I  think 
the  bladder  could  not  have  been  made  to  contain  more  than  a 
quart ;  and  we  think  this  condition  of  the  organ  is  sufficient  to 
account  for  the  constant  dribbling  spoken  of  by  the  groom.     There 
was  an  accumulation  of  several  gallons  of  fluid  in  the  abdominal 
cavity,  and  the  peritoneum  bore  evident  marks  of  inflammation, 
which,  doubtless,  had  been  rendered  less  solvent  by  the  medicines 
administered.     The  lining  membrane  of  the  bladder  was  clothed 
with  a  kind  of  mucus,  thick,  muddy,  and  of  a  dark  color.     The 
kidneys  were  almost  destitute  of  the  investing  membrane.     What 
remained  rubbed  off  with  the  slightest  touch.     In  attempting  to 
remove  then:   from  their  connections,  they  were  torn  with  very 
little  for.-*.      They  were  of  a  brick  red  color,  extremely  soft,  so 
that  they  nonld  be  squeezed  between  the  fingers  like  a  paste :  or. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  URINARY  ORGANS.  23c 

when  laid  upon  a  board,  they  flattened  like  soft  dough.  The  liver 
was  softened,  or,  as  it  is  generally  called,  rotten.  It  appeared 
pale,  was  of  a  clay  color  externally,  and  could  be  broken  down 
with  the  slightest  pressure.  The  stomach  was  healthy,  and  con- 
tained about  four  quarts  of  fluid.  The  thoracic  viscera  healthy; 
heart,  large  and  firm ;  lungs,  sound,  but  discolored,  doubtless  from 
lying  so  bng  after  death. 

An  idea  suggests  itself  in  regard  to  the  case  now  under  consid- 
eration :  that  the  liver  did  not  properly  prepare  the  blood  for  the 
secretion  of  the  urine ;  hence  the  morbid  condition  of  the  kidneys 
and  bladder.  But,  although  these  organs  are  shown  to  have  been 
exercising  a  diseased  secretory  action,  yet  doubtless  the  primary 
seat  of  the  affection  was  in  the  digestive  apparatus,  the  stomach, 
and  more  particularly  the  liver.  This  question  is  not  only  a  very 
important  one  in  a  pathological  point  of  view,  but  it  is  also  one 
of  peculiar  interest  to  the  practitioner  in  his  treatment  of  disease. 
It  directs  him  to  the  proper  remedies  to  employ,  and  the  action 
of  these  remedies  on  the  organs  affected.  In  the  treatment  of  all 
diseases,  it  is  not  only  necessary  to  understand  the  cause,  but  to 
know  the  organ  or  viscus  affected." 

Albuminous  Urine  ("Thick  Water"). 

This  is  rather  a  rare  disease  among  horses;  yet,  as  it  does  occa- 
sionally occur,  it  may  be  proper  to  take  some  notice  of  it.  Those 
cases  which  have  come  under  the  author's  notice  have  occurred  in 
animals  of  the  scrofulous  diathesis,  most  of  which  animals  had  a 
scurfy  skin,  and  were  otherwise  unthrifty,  just  the  subjects  for 
disease  of  the  kidneys ;  for  it  is  well  known  that  when  the  excre- 
mentitious  function  of  the  skin  is  interrupted,  the  kidneys  have 
to  perform  double  labor.  Their  function  is  then  overtaxed  ;  hence, 
disease. 

Albuminous  urine  is  often  associated  with  various  forms  Gf  dis- 
ease, or,  rather,  is  the  result  of  disease,  or  may  follow  the  use  of 
improper  medicines  or  bad  food.  Such  are  said  to  be  the  cause 
of  this  malady  (functional)  in  the  human;  and,  reasoning  from 
analogy,  we  infer  that  the  same  causes  operate  on  the  horse,  for 
all  the  functions  of  his  body  are  carried  on  after  the  same  general 
plan  that  obtains  in  the  body  of  man. 

AY  atson  teaches  us  "  that  some  articles  of  food,  and  some  medi- 


236  DADD'S  VETERINAKV  MEDICINE  AND  SUllGEKr. 

cinfis,  have  the  effect,  in  some  cases,  of  rendering  the  urine  for  a 
time  albuminous.  Perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that 
certain  forms  of  indigestion  may  cause  this  change.  Albumen 
has,  also,  been  detected  after  a  blister  upon  the  skin,  or  under  tha^ 
general  state  of  irritation  of  the  skin  called  eczema  rubrum,  which 
is  produced  by  the  use  of  mercury.  In  the  crisis  of  some  febrile 
disorders,  in  some  cases  of  pregnancy,  of  heart  disease,  and  in  epi- 
demic cholera,  the  same  phenomena  has  been  observed.  Whenever 
blood,  proceeding  from  the  long  track  of  mucous  membrane  which 
lines  the  urinary  organs,  mingles  with  the  urine,  that  fluid,  of 
necessity,  contains  albumen,  and  coagulates,  if  tested  by  heat  or  by 
nitric  acid."  There  is  no  albumen  in  healthy  urine;  neither  can 
we  recognize  its  presence  by  mere  inspection.  Horses  often  pass 
urine  of  a  thick  and  ropy  character,  but  that  does  not  prove  that 
it  is  albuminous.  It  may  be  loaded  with  morbid  or  excrementi- 
tious  matter,  yet  contain  not  a  particle  of  albumen.  Healthv 
urine,  when  recently  discharged,  possesses  the  ordinary  temper- 
ature of  the  body,  is  transparent,  of  a  straw  color,  and  exhales 
a  peculiar  ammoniacal  odor,  which  it  loses  in  cooling.  About 
ninety -three  parts  in  one  hundred  of  healthy  urine  is  water;  the 
remainder  are  made  up  chiefly  of  urea,  saline  and  organic  matters. 
Albumen,  being  similar  to  the  white  of  eggs,  passes  from  the  fluid 
to  the  solid  state  by  boiling ;  therefore,  in  order  to  detect  albumen 
in  urine,  it  is  only  necessary  to  heat  the  suspected  urine  to  the 
boiling  point,  when  the  albuminous  opacity  becomes  visible. 

A  horse  the  subject  of  albuminous  urine  usually  has  a  strad- 
dling gait;  will  stretch  backward  his  hind  legs;  is  stiff,  and  makes 
short  turns  with  difficulty.  He  is  usually  thirsty  and  feverish, 
has  a  quick  pulse,  and  the  feuces  are  hard  and  dark-colored.  When 
the  disease  is  of  long  standing,  and  the  animal  loses  flesh,  and  the 
mucous  membranes  of  the  mouth  appear  pale,  the  probability  is 
that  the  disease  is  organic,  and  the  case  may  be  considered  incura- 
ble. In  such  cases,  the  morbid  appearances  aftei  death  denote 
degeneration,  or  structural  change  in  the  secreting  surface  of  the 
kidneys,  and  in  the  glands  also. 

Treatment. — The  best  remedy  for  the  treatment  of  this  affection 
is  fluid  extract  of  buchu,  two  ounces  per  day.  Greep  v^etables 
and  caixots  are  also  indicated. 


diseases  of  the  urinary  organs.  237 

Hematuria  (Bloody  Urine). 

Hematuria  consists  of  extravasation  of  blood  from  the  urinary 
organs,  which  is  mixed  with  the  urine,  giving  to  the  latter  a  blood- 
red  tinge.  Small  quantities  of  blood  is  very  often  excreted  from 
the  kidneys,  in  consequence  of  congestion  of  the  renal  blood-ves- 
seta.  The  affection  often  follows  injury  or  sprain  in  the  lumbar 
region,  and  may  occur  in  consequence  of  active  disease,  scattered 
in  either  the  kidneys  or  the  bladder.  Strong  diuretics,  such  as 
turpentine,  juniper  berries,  etc.,  are  operative  in  producing  hsema- 
turia. But  many  cases  are  very  obscure.  Blood  is  sometimes 
voided  with  the  urine  without  any  assignable  cause.  I  have 
known  mares,  when  menstruating,  to  pass  considerable  blood  with 
the  urine,  which  ceased  on  the  termination  of  menstruation. 

Treatment. — The  proper  method  of  treating  this  affection  is  to 
apply  warm-water  dressings  to  the  loins,  and  drench  the  patient 
with  one  ounce  of  fluid  extract  of  matico,  night  and  morning. 
Mucilaginous  drinks  are  also  needed,  which  may  be  composed  of, 
slippery-elm,  flaxseed,  or  gum  arabic. 


SURGICAL  INSTRUMENTS  USED  IN  VETERINARY  PRACTICE. 


Explanation.— Fig.  1,  Hobbles  for  casting;  2,  Probang,  for  the  removal  of  olratructio* 
withir  the  oesophagus;  3,  Thumb  lancet;  4,  Artery  forceps;  5,  Gum  scarificator;  6.  Tube  used 
for  obstruction  in  the  teats;  7.  Castrating  knife;  8,  Beak-pointed  scalpel;  9,  Curved  scissors 
10,  Suture-needles;  11,  Female  catheter;  12,  Parturient  slip-noose;  13,  Parturient  laver;  14,  Km- 
iryotomy  forceps,  or  clasp-hooks;  15,  Embryotomy  knife;  16,  Mouth-gag;  17,  Trocar;  IS,  CanuU 
or  cover  of  the  trocar;  19,  20,  Trocar  and  canula  for  puncturing  the  chest;  21,  22,  23,  Views  c 
leu  mveral  parts  of  the  tracheotomy  tube. 


SECTION   IX. 

SURGICAL    OPERATIONS. 

Of  8urgical  Operations  and  the  various  Restraints  it  is  sometimes  nb» 

ck8sary  to  place  the  horse  under  for   their   performance — casting 

Slinging — Castration — French  Method  of  Castration — Castration  by 
Ligature — Lithotomy — Tracheotomy — GSsophagotomy — Neurotomy —  Mods 
of  Performing  Neurotomy — Periosteotomy — Division  of  the  Flexor  Ten- 
dons— Amputations — Amputation  of  the  Penis — Amputation  of  the  Tail — 
Nicking — Firing — Blistering— Ammoniacal  Blister— Rowelling — Setons — 
Abstraction  of  Blood,  or  Bleeding — Division  of  the  Temporal  Artery — 
Bleeding  by  the  Palate — Bleeding  by  the  Toe — Phlebotomy — Bleedino 
by  the  Jugular  Vein. 

Op  Surgical  Operations  and  the  various  restraints  n 

IS  SOMETIMES  necessary  to  place  the  horse  under  for 

THEIR  PERFORMANCE. 

"  \^7"HEN  it  is  necessary  to  perform  any  painful  operation  on 
iT  so  powerful  an  animal  as  the  horse,  it  is  of  consequence 
to  subject  him  to  a  restraint  equal  to  the  occasion.  Horses  are 
very  dissimilar  in  their  tempers,  and  bear  pain  very  differently ; 
but  it  is  always  prudent  to  prepare  for  the  worst,  and  few  impor- 
tant operations  should  be  attempted  without  casting.  Humanity 
ehould  be  the  fundamental  principle  of  every  proceeding,  and  we 
ought  always  to  subject  this  noble  animal  to  pain  with  reluctance ; 
but  when  circumstances  absolutely  call  for  it,  we  should  joyfully 
close  our  hearts  to  all  necessary  suffering.  The  resistance  of  the 
horse  is  terrible,  and  it  is  but  common  prudence  to  guard  against 
the  effects  of  it.  The  lesser  restraints  are  various.  Among  them 
may  be  first  noticed  the  twitch.  The  twitch  is  a  very  necessary 
instrument  in  a  stable,  though,  when  frequently  and  officiously 
used,  it  may  have  the  ill-effect  of  rendering  some  horses  violent 

to  resist  its  application.     In  many  instances  blindfolding  will  do 

(239) 


240  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

more  than  the  twitch ;  and  some  horses  may  be  quieted,  when  thf 
pain  is  not  excessive,  by  holding  the  ear  in  one  hand,  and  rubbing 
the  point  of  the  nose  with  the  other.  A  soothing  manner  will 
often  engage  the  attention  and  prevent  violence ;  but  it  is  seldom 
that  either  threats  or  punishment  render  an  unruly  horse  more 
calm.  Inexperienced  persons  guard  themselves  only  against  the 
hind  legs;  but  they  should  be  aware  that  some  horses  strike  ter- 
ribly with  their  fore-feet.  It  is  prudent,  therefore,  in  all  opera- 
tions, to  blindfold  the  animal,  as,  by  this,  he  becomes  particularly 
intimidated,  and  if  he  strikes  he  can  not  aim.  When  one  of  the 
fore  extremities  requires  a  very  minute  examination,  it  is  prudent 
to  have  the  opposite  leg  held  up  (it  may,  in  some  cases,  be  tied) ; 
and  when  one  of  the  hinder  feet  is  the  object  of  attention,  the  fore 
one  of  the  same  side  should  be  held  up,  as,  by  this  means,  the  ani- 
mal is  commonly  prevented  from  striking.  If  this  precaution  be 
not  taken,  still  observe  to  keep  one  hand  on  the  hock,  while  the 
other  is  employed  in  what  is  necessary,  by  which  means,  if  the 
foot  become  elevated  to  kick,  sufficient  warning  is  given,  and  the 
very  action  of  the  horse  throws  the  operator  away  from  the  sti  oke. 
Without  the  use  of  these  arts,  the  practitioner  will  expose  himself 
to  much  risk.  The  trevis  is  the  very  utmost  limit  of  restraint, 
and  is  seldom  used  save  by  smiths,  to  shoe  very  violent  and  power- 
ful horses.  Whenever  recourse  is  had  to  it,  the  greatest  caution  is 
necessary  to  bed  and  bolster  all  the  parts  that  are  likely  to  come 
in  contact  with  the  body.  On  the  Continent  we  have  seen  horses 
shod  in  this  machine,  and  apparently  put  into  it  from  no  necessity 
greater  than  to  prevent  the  clothes  of  the  smith  from  being  dirtied. 
Horses  have  been  destroyed  by  the  trevis,  as  well  as  by  casting; 
or  their  aversion  to  the  restraint  has  been  such,  they  have  died 
from  the  consequences  of  their  own  resistance.  The  side-line  is 
now  very  generally  used,  not  only  in  minor  operations,  but  also  in 
those  more  important.  Many  veterinarians  do  not  use  any  other 
restraint  than  this,  in  which  they  consider  there  is  safety  both  to 
the  horse  and  to  the  operator.  It  is  applicable  to  such  horses  as 
are  disposed  to  strike  behind,  and  consists  in  placing  a  hobble-strap 
around  the  pastern  of  one  hind  leg,  and  then  carrying  from  a  web 
collar,  passed  over  the  head,  the  end  of  a  rope  through  the  D  of  the 
hobble,  and  back  again  under  the  webbing  round  the  neck.  A 
man  is  then  set  to  pull  at  the  free  end  of  the  rope,  by  ^Lich  the 
hinder  leg  is  drawn  forward  without  elevating  it  from  tl  e  ground. 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  24] 

By  this  displacement  of  one  leg  the  horse  is  effectually  secured 
from  kicking  with  either.  Occasionally  it  is  thus  applied :  hobble*, 
are  put  on  both  hind  legs,  and  the  rope  is  passed  through  each  of 
the  rings.  According  to  this  last  method,  the  horse  3  actually 
cast,  as  he  must  fall  when  the  ropes  are  pulled.  Take  a  *ong  rope, 
and  tie  a  loop  in  the  middle,  which  is  to  be  of  such  a  size  as  it  may 
serve  for  a  collar ;  pass  the  loop  over  the  head,  letting  the  knot  rest 
upon  the  withers ;  then  take  the  free  ends,  pass  them  through  the 
hobbles,  and  bring  it  under  the  loop.  Let  two  men  pull  at  the 
ropes,  and  the  hind  legs  will  be  drawn  forward. 

Casting. 

The  objections  to  this  practice  arise  from  the  dangcra  incurred 
by  forcing  the  horse  to  the  ground.  Mr.  Bracy  Clark  simplified 
easting  by  inventing  some  patent  hobbies,  having  a  running  chain 
instead  of  rope,  and  which,  by  a  shifting  D,  made  the  loosening  of 
all  the  hobbles,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  at  a  particular  leg, 
unnecessary.  These  were  still  further  improved  by  Mr.  Budd,  so 
as  to  render  a  release  from  all  the  hobbles  at  once  practicable. 
Hobble  leathers  and  ropes  should  be  kept  supple  and'  pliant  with 
oil,  and  ought  to  be  always  examined  previous  to  using ;  nor  should 
the  D  or  ring  of  the  strap  be  of  any  other  nietfll  than  iron.  Brass, 
however  thick,  is  brittle,  and  not  to  be  depended  on.  To  the  D 
ring,  or  ring  of  one  pastern  hobble,  a  chain  of  about  four  feet  long 
is  attached ;  to  this  a  strong  rope  is  well  fastened,  and,  according  to 
the  way  the  horse  is  to  be  thrown,  this  hobble  is  to  be  fixed  on  the 
fore-foot  of  the  contrary  side.  The  rope  is  then  passed  from  the 
hobble  on  the  fore-foot  to  the  D  of  the  hind  foot  of  that  side,  then 
to  the  other  hind  foot,  and,  lastly,  through  the  D  of  the  other  fore- 
foot. After  this,  much  of  the  ease  and  safety  of  the  throw  depends 
on  bringing  the  legs  as  near  together  as  possible.  This  should  be 
done  by  gradually  moving  them  nearer  to  each  other,  without 
alarming  the  horse,  which  will  very  much  facilitate  the  business, 
and  is  really  of  more  moment  than  is  generally  imagined.  A  space 
sufficiently  large  should  be  chosen  for  the  purpose  of  casting,  as 
some  horses  struggle  much,  and  throw  themselves  with  great  vio- 
lence a  considerable  way  to  one  side  or  the  other;  and  they  are 
able  to  do  this  if  the  feet  have  not  been  brought  near  together  pre- 
vious to  attempting  the  cast.  The  place  should  be  also  very  well 
lfi 


242  UADD'S   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

litteit  J  down.  The  legs  having  been  brought  together,  the  assist- 
ants must  act  in  concert.  One,  particularly,  should  be  at  the  head, 
which  must  be  carefully  held  throughout  by  means  of  a  strong 
snaffle-bridle;  another  should  be  at  the  hind  part,  to  direct  the 
fall,  and  to  force  the, body  of  the  horse  to  the  side  which  is  requi- 
site. Pursuing  these  instructions,  the  animal  may  be  at  once  rather 
let  down  than  thrown,  by  a  dexterous  and  quick  drawing  of  the 
rope,  the  whole  assistants  acting  in  concert.  The  moment  tha 
hoise  is  down,  the  person  at  the  head  must  throw  himself  upon 
that  member,  and  keep  it  secure ;  for  all  the  efforts  of  the  animal 
to  disengage  himself  are  begun  by  elevating  the  head  and  fore-parts. 
The  rope  is  tightened.  The  chain  is  fixed  by  inserting  a  hook 
through  one  of  the  links,  of  sufficient  size  not  to  pass  the  hobbles. 
When  the  operation  is  over,  the  screw  which  fastens  the  chain  to 
the  hobble,  first  put  upon  one  fore-leg,  is  withdrawn.  The  chain 
then  flies  through  the  D's  of  the  other  hobbles,  and  all  the  legs 
are  free,  save  the  fore-leg  first  alluded  to ;  '.he  strap  of  this  has  to 
be  afterward  unbuckled.  There  are  also  other  apparatus  used  in 
casting,  as  a  strong  leathern  case  to  pass  over  the  head,  serving  as 
a  blind  when  the  animal  is  being  thrown,  and  as  a  protection 
against  his  rubbing  the  skin  off  his  eyes  when  down.  Then  a  sur- 
cingle is  also  used.  This  is  fastened  round  the  horse's  body,  and 
from  the  back  hangs  a  broad  strap  and  a  rope.  The  strap  is  fast- 
ened to  the  fore-leg  of  that  side  which  it  is  desired  should  be 
uppermost.  The  line  is  given  to  a  man  who  stands  on  the  oppo- 
site side  to  the  generality  of  the  pullers.  On  the  signal  being 
given,  the  men  having  hold  of  the  hobble-rope  pull  the  legs  one 
way,  while  he  who  has  hold  of  the  rope  attached  to  the  surcingle 
pulls  the  back  in  a  contrary  direction,  and  the  horse  is  immedi- 
ately cast. 

Slinging. 

This  is  a  rsstraint  which  horses  submit  to  with  great  impatience, 
and  not  without  much  inconvenience,  from  the  violent  excoriations 
occasioned  by  the  friction  and  pressure  of  the  bandaging  mound 
his  body.  Graver  evils  are  also  brought  about  by  the  abdominal 
pressure.  Some  horses  stale  and  dung  with  difficulty  when  sus- 
pended, and  inflammation  of  the  bowels  has  not  unfrequently 
come  on  during  slinging.  The  slings  are,  however,  forced  on  n? 
in  some  cases,  as  in  fractured  bones,  the  treatment  of  open  joints. 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  243 

and  some  other  wounds  where  motion  would  be  most  unfavorable 
to  the  curative  treatment.  Suspension  may  be  partial  or  complete. 
Suspension  of  any  kind  will  require  the  application  of  pulleys  and 
ropes  affixed  to  the  beams,  that  the  whole  body  of  the  horse  may 
be  supported.  A  sling  may  be  formed  of  a  piece  of  strong  sack- 
ing, which  is  to  pass  under  the  belly,  the  two  ends  being  fastened 
firmly  to  pieces  of  wood,  each  of  about  three  feet  long,  and  which 
are  to  reach  a  little  higher  than  the  horse's  back.  To  the  pieces 
of  wood  cords  and  pulleys  are  to  be  firmly  attached,  by  which 
means  the  sacking  can  be  lowered  or  raised  at  pleasure.  To  the 
sacking,  also,  are  to  be  sewn  strong  straps,  both  before  and  behind, 
to  prevent  the  horse  sliding  in  either  direction,  without  carrying 
the  sacking  with  him.  Upon  this  so-formed  cradle  he  is  to  recline. 
If  horses  when  they  are  fresh  should  be  placed  in  this  machine, 
most  of  them  would  either  injure  themselves  or  break  through  all 
restraint.  However,  by  tying  up  their  heads  for  three  or  four 
nights  their  spirit  is  destroyed.  The  slings  may  then  be  applied 
without  the  fear  of  resistance.  It  is  the  best  method  not  to  pull 
the  canvas  firm  up,  but  to  leave  about  an  inch  between  the  horse's 
belly  and  the  cloth,  so  that  the  animal  may  stand  free,  or  throw 
his  weight  into  the  slings  when  he  pleases.  In  this  fashion  a 
horse  may  remain  for  months  in  the  slings,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
time  display  none  of  the  wear  and  tear  so  feelingly  described  by 
old  authors. 

Castration. 

This  practice  is  of  very  ancient  origin,  and  is  as  extensive  as 
ancient.  It  is  founded  on  the  superior  placidity  of  temper  it  gives. 
The  castrated  horse  no  longer  evinces  the  superiorities  of  his  mas- 
culine character,  but  approaches  the  softer  form  and  milder  char- 
acter of  the  mare.  Losing  his  ungovernable  desires,  he  submits 
to  discipline  and  confinement  without  resistance ;  and,  if  he  be  less 
worthy  of  the  painter's  delineation  and  the  poet's  song,  he  is  val- 
uable tc  his  possessor  in  a  tenfold  degree.  In  England,  where 
length  in  the  arms  and  of  the  wide-spread  angles  of  the  limbs  is 
absolutely  necessary  in  the  horse  to  accomplish  the  rapid  traveling 
so  much  in  vogue  among  us,  the  exchange  of  the  lofty  carriage 
and  high  action  of  the  stallion  is  absolutely  necessary  ;  and  when 
we  have  added  the  lessened  tendency  of  the  gelding  to  some  dis- 
eases, *s  hernia,  founder,   cutaneous  affections,  etc.,  we  may  be 


244  DADD'S  "VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

contei ,t  to  leave  the  sexual  type  with  the  racer  for  his  breed ; 
also  with  the  dray-horse  for  his  weight,  and  the  farrv  of  his 
owner. 

Supposing  it,  therefore,  eligible  to  castrate  our  horses,  what  ]a 
the  proper  age  for  the  operation?  What  are  the  relative  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  of  the  different  methods  of  performing 
it?  The  proper  age  to  castrate  the  young  horse  must  depend  ou 
circumstances,  as  on  his  present  appearance,  his  growth,  and  the 
future  purposes  we  intend  him  for,  observing,  generally,  that  the 
more  early  it  is  done,  the  safer  is  the  operation ;  for,  until  these 
organs  begin  to  secrete,  they  are  purely  structural  parts,  and,  as 
such,  are  not  so  intimately  connected  with  the  sympathies  of  the 
constitution.  Some  breeders  of  horses  castrate  at  twelve  months , 
others  object  to  this  period,  because  they  think  the  animal  ues 
not  sufficiently  recovered  the  check  experienced  from  weaning 
before  this  new  shock  to  the  system  occurs.  In  the  more  conimcu 
sort  of  horses,  used  for  agricultural  purposes,  it  is  probably  indif- 
ferent at  what  time  the  operation  is  performed,  this  consideration 
being  kept  in  view  :  that  the  earlier  it  is  done,  the  lighter  will  tt  e 
horse  be  in  his  forehand ;  and  the  longer  it  is  protracted,  the  heav 
ier  will  be  his  crest,  and  the  greater  his  weight  before,  which,  in 
heavy  draught-work,  is  desirable.  For  carriage-horses  it  would 
be  less  so,  and  the  period  of  two  years  is  not  a  bad  one  for  their 
castration.  The  better  sort  of  saddle-horses  should  be  well  ex- 
amined  every  three  or  four  months,  particularly  at  the  ages  of 
twelve,  eighteen,  and  twenty-four  months,  at  either  of  which  times, 
according  to  circumstances  or  to  fancy,  provided  the  forehand  be 
sufficiently  developed,  it  may  be  proceeded  with.  Waiting  longer 
may  make  the  horse  heavy ;  but,  if  his  neck  appear  too  long  and 
thin,  and  his  shoulders  spare,  he  will  assuredly  be  improved  by 
being  allowed  to  remain  entire  for  six  or  eight  months  later. 
Many  of  the  Yorkshire  breeders  never  cut  till  two  years,  and 
think  their  horses  stronger  and  handsomer  for  it.  Some  wait 
even  longer;  but  the  fear  in  this  case  is,  that  the  stallion  form 
will  be  too  predominant,  and  a  heavy  crest  and  weighty  forehand 
be  the  consequence.  Perhaps,  also,  the  temper  may  suffer.  Young 
colts  require  little  preparation,  provided  they  are  healthy  and  not 
too  full  from  high  living.  If  so,  they  must  be  kept  somewhat 
ehort  for  a  few  days ;  and,  in  all,  the  choice  of  a  mild  season  and 
moderate  temperature  is  proper. 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  i45 

Wlien  a  full-grown  horse  is  operated  on,  some  further  prepa- 
ration is  necessary.  He  should  not  be  in  a  state  of  debility,  and, 
certainly,  not  in  one  of  plethora.  In  the  latter  case,  lower  his  diet ; 
and  it  would  be  prudent  to  give  him  a  purgative.  It  is  also  ad- 
visable that  it  be  done  when  no  influenza  or  strangles  rage,  as  we 
have  found  the  effects  of  castration  render  a  horse  very  obnoxious 
to  any  prevalent  disease.  The  advanced  spring  season — previous, 
however,  to  the  flies  becoming  troublesome — is  the  proper  time  for 
the  performance  of  the  operation  upon  all  valuable  horses ;  and 
be  careful  that  it  be  not  done  until  after  the  winter  coat  has  been 
shed,  which  will  have  a  favorable  effect  on  the  future  coating  of 
the  horse,  independent  of  the  circumstance  that  at  a  period  of 
change  the  constitution  is  not  favorable  to  unusual  excitement. 

Castration  is  performed  in  various  ways,  but  in  all  it  expresses 
the  removal  of  the  testicles.  There  are  methods  of  rendering  the 
animal  impotent  without  the  actual  destruction  of  these  organs; 
for  if,  by  any  other  method,  the  secretion  of  the  spermatic  glands 
is  prevented,  our  end  is  answered. 

Castration  by  cauterization  is  the  method  which  has  been  prin- 
cipally practiced  among  us ;  but  this  by  no  means  proves  it  the 
best.  On  the  contrary,  many  of  our  most  expert  veterinarians 
do  not  castiate  by  this  method.  Mr.  Goodwin,  and  many  other 
practitioners  of  eminence,  never  castrate  by  cautery. 

A  preliminary  observation  should  be  made  previously  to  casting, 
to  see  that  the  horse  is  not  suffering  from  a  rupture.  Such  cases 
,  have  happened ;  and  as  in  our  method  we  open  a  direct  commu- 
nication with  the  abdomen,  when  the  horse  rises  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  his  bowels  protrude  until  they  trail  on  the  ground. 
Hernia,  as  a  consequence  of  castration,  may  easily  occur  by  the 
uncovered  operation ;  for,  as  already  observed,  it  makes  the  scrotal 
Buc  and  abdominal  cavity  one  continuous  opening.  It  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at,  therefore,  if  the  violent  struggles  of  the  animal 
should  force  a  quantity  of  intestine  through  the  rings  into  the 
scr  )tal  bag.  Should  we  be  called  on  to  operate  on  a  horse  which 
already  had  hernia,  it  is  evident  we  ought  not  to  proceed  with  it 
unless  the  owner  be  apprised  of  the  risk,  and  willing  to  abide  by 
it.  In  such  cases,  we  would  recommend  that  the  method  of  Girard 
be  practiced ;  that  is,  to  inclose  the  tunica  vaginalis  within  the 
clams,  (sufficiently  tight  to  retain  them,  but  not  to  produce  death 
in  the  part,)  pushed  high  up  against  the  abdominal  ring,  and  then 


246  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

CO  remove  the  testicle,  being  very  careful  to  avoid  injuring  any 
portion  of  intestine  in  the  operation.  When  a  discovery  is  made 
cf  the  existence  of  hernia  after  an  opening  has  been  already  made 
for  the  common  purpose  of  castration,  should  the  operator  con- 
tinue his  process,  and  castrate  ?  We  should  say,  By  no  means ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  we  would  greatly  prefer  the  method  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Percivall :  firmly  to  unite  the  lips  of  the  external 
wound  by  suture,  allowing  the  testicle  itself  to  assist  in  blocking 
up  the  passage,  with  a  hope,  also,  that  the  inflammation  caused  by 
the  incision  might  altogether  stop  up  the  scrotal  communication 
with  the  abdomen.  But,  in  the  appalling  case  of  immense  pro- 
trusion of  intestine,  what  is  to  be  done?  Mr.  Coleman,  in  such 
a  case,  proposes  to  make  an  opening  near  the  umbilicus  large 
enough  to  introduce  the  hand,  and  thus  draw  in  the  bowels.  Mr. 
Percivall  would  prefer  dilating  the  external  ring.  But  the  testicle 
must  be  very  firmly  retained,  and  even  permanently  fixed  against 
the  dilated  ring,  or  the  bowels  would  again  descend.  The  intes- 
tines probably  would  become  inflated  in  any  such  case. 

As  unbroken  young  horses  are  the  most  usual  subjects  of  this 
operation,  and  as  such  often  have  not  yet  been  bridled,  if  a  colt 
can  not  be  enticed  with  oats,  etc.,  he  must  be  driven  into  a  corner, 
between  two  steady  horses,  where,  if  a  halter  can  not  be  put  on,  at 
least  a  running  hempen  noose  can  be  got  round  his  neck ;  but  which- 
ever is  used,  it  should  be  flat,  or  the  struggles,  which  are  often  long 
and  violent,  may  bruise  the  neck,  and  produce  abscess  or  injury. 
When  his  exertions  have  tired  him,  he  may  then  be  led  to  the 
operating  spot.  Here  his  attention  should  be  engaged  while  the 
hobbles  are  put  on,  if  possible ;  if  not,  a  long  and  strong  cart-rope, 
having  its  middle  portion  formed  into  a  noose  sufficiently  large  to 
take  in  the  head  and  neck,  is  to  be  slipped  on,  with  the  knotted 
part  applied  to  the  counter  or  breast.  The  long  pendent  ends  are 
passed  backward  between  the  fore-legs;  then  carried  round  the 
hind  fetlocks,  brought  forward  again  on  the  outside,  run  under 
tne  collar-rope ;  a  second  time  carried  backward  on  the  outer  side 
of  all,  and  extended  to  the  full  length  in  a  direct  line  behind  the 
animal.  Thus  fettered,  Mr.  Percivall  says  his  hind  feet  may  be 
drawn  under  him  toward  the  elbows.  It  has  been,  however,  often 
found  that,  at  the  moment  the  rope  touches  the  legs,  the  colt  either 
kicks  and  displaces  the  rope,  or  altogether  displaces  himself;  but 
bis  attention  can  generally  be  engaged  by  one  fore-leg  being  held 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  247 

u]).  or  by  having  his  ear  or  muzzle  rubbed,  or  even  by  the  twitch  ; 
if  not,  the  rope  may  be  carried  actually  round  each  fetlock,  which 
(hen  acts  like  a  hobble,  and  this  rope  may  be  gradually  tight- 
ened. This  last,  however,  is  a  very  questionable  method,  and  the 
others,  therefore,  ought  to  be  long  tried  before  it  is  resorted  to. 
In  this  way  people  have  succeeded  with  very  refractory  colts;  but 
it  requires  very  able  assistants,  and,  if  possible,  the  man  who  has 
been  used  to  the  individual  colt  should  be  present.  In  either  way, 
as  soon  as  the  rope  is  fixed,  with  a  man  at  each  end  of  it,  behind 
the  colt,  let  them,  by  a  sudden  and  forcible  effort  in  concert,  ap- 
proximate his  hind  legs  to  his  fore,  and  thus  throw  him.  Before 
the  colt  is  cast,  however,  it  should  be  endeavored  to  ascertain  that 
he  is  free  from  strangles  and  hernia. 

Being  satisfied  that  no  hernia  exists  on  either  side,  proceed  to 
cast  the  colt,  turning  him,  not  directly  on  the  left  side,  but  prin- 
cipally inclining  that  way ;  and,  if  possible,  let  the  croup  be  very 
slightly  elevated.  It  is  usual  to  place  him  directly  flat  on  the  left 
side,  but  the  above  is  more  convenient.  Next,  secure  the  near 
hind  leg  with  a  piece  of  hempen  tackle,  having  a  running  noose ; 
or,  in  default  of  this  not  being  at  hand,  make  use  of  the  flat  part 
of  a  hempen  halter,  which  should,  for  safety,  be  put  on  before  the 
hobble  of  that  leg  is  removed — as  may  be  readily  done,  if  the 
hobbles  having  shifting  or  screw  D's  (as  described  in  casting)  are 
made  use  of.  Every  requisite  being  at  hand,  the  operator,  having 
his  scalpel  ready,  should  place  himself  behind  the  horse,  as  the 
most  convenient  way  to  perform  his  manipulations ;  and,  firmly 
grasping  the  left  testicle  with  his  left  hand,  and  drawing  it  out  so 
as  to  render  the  scrotum  tense,  he  should  make  an  incision  length- 
wavy,  from  the  anterior  to  the  posterior  part  of  the  bag.  The 
resistance  of  the  cremaster  muscle  has  to  be  overcome  before  the 
testicle  can  be  forced  to  the  bottom  of  the  scrotum,  and  this  is  the 
more  readily  accomplished  if  the  animal's  attention  be  engage  1. 
The  incision  may  be  carried  at  once  through  the  integuments,  the 
thin  dartos  expansion,  and  the  vaginal  coat  of  the  testicles  with 
a  sweep  of  the  scalpel;  but  with  one  less  dextrous  at  the  opera- 
tion, it  will  be  more  prudent  to  make  the  first  incision  through 
the  scrotum  and  dartos  only,  to  the  required  extent,  and  then  to 
do  the  same  by  the  vaginal  coat,  thus  avoiding  to  wound  the  tes- 
ticle which  would  produce  violent  resistance,  and  give  unneoes- 
Bary  pain. 


1!  18  IMDD'B  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  BURttEK*. 

We,  however,  take  this  opportunity  of  noting  that  cases  have 
occurred  when  the  tunica  vaginalis  was  divided  no  testicle  fol- 
lowed, firm  adhesions  between  this  tunic  and  the  tunica  albuginea 
having  retained  it  fast.  In  such  cases  the  scalpel  must  be  era- 
ployed  to  free  the  testicle,  by  dissecting  it  away  from  the  vaginal 
sac.  When  no  such  obstruction  occurs,  the  testicle,  if  the  opening 
be-  sufficiently  large,  will  slip  out;  but  the  operator  must  be  pre- 
pared, at  the  moment  of  so  doing,  to  expect  some  violent  struggles, 
more  particularly  if  he  attempt  to  restrain  the  contractions  of  the 
cremaster,  and,  by  main  force,  to  draw  out  the  testicle.  Prepara- 
tory to  this,  therefore,  the  twitch  should  be  tightened ;  the  attend- 
ants, especially  the  man  at  the  head,  must  be  on  the  alert;  and 
the  testicle  itself,  at  the  time  of  this  violent  retraction  of  the  cre- 
master, should  be  merely  held,  but  not  dragged  in  opposition  to 
the  contraction.  If  the  clams  have  been  put  on  over  the  whole, 
according  to  Mr.  Percivall's  method,  they  will  assist  in  retaining 
the  retracting  parts ;  but  they  must  not  be  used  with  too  much 
pressure.  The  resistance  having  subsided,  the  clams  must  now 
be  removed;  or,  if  they  have  not  been  previcusly  in  use,  they 
must  now  be  taken  in  hand,  and,  having  been  prepared  by  some 
tow  being  wound  around  them,  should  be  placed  easily  on  the  cord, 
while  time  is  found  to  free  from  the  grip  of  the  pincers  the  vas  def- 
erens, or  spermatic  tube,  which  is  seen  continued  from  the  epididy- 
mis. The  Russians,  Mr.  Goodwin  informs  us,  cut  it  through  when 
they  operate.  Humanity  is  much  concerned  in  its  removal  from 
pressure,  because  of  the  excess  of  pain  felt  when  it  is  included. 

It  is  necessary,  before  the  final  fixing  of  the  Jams,  to  deter- 
mine on  the  part  where  the  division  of  the  cord  is  to  take  place. 
To  use  Mr.  Percivall's  words,  '  if  it  be  left  too  long,  it  is  apt  to 
hang  out  of  the  wound  afterward,  and  retard  the  process  of  union/ 
On  the  other  hand,  if  it  be  cut  very  short,  and  the  arteries  hap- 
pen to  bleed  afresh  after  it  has  been  released  from  the  clams,  the 
operator  will  find  it  no  easy  task  to  recover  it.  The  natural 
length  of  the  cord,  which  will  mainly  depend  on  the  degree  of 
the  descent  of  the  gland,  will  be  our  best  guide  in  this  particular. 
The  place  of  section  determined  on  and  marked,  close  the  clams 
sufficiently  tight  to  retain  firm  hold  of  the  cord,  and  to  effectually 
stop  the  circulation  within  it.  There  are  now  two  modes  of 
making  the  division :  the  one  is  to  sever  it  with  a  scalpel,  and  then 
to  sufficiently  sear  the  end  of  it  as  to  prevent  a  flow  of  blood  :  the 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  249 

other,  and  in  some  respects  the  preferable  method,  is  to  employ  a 
blunt-edged  iron,  which  is  to  divide  by  little  crucial  sawings,  so 
that,  when  the  cord  is  separated,  it  shall  not  present  a  uniform 
surface,  but  ragged  edges,  which  will  perfectly  close  the  mouths 
of  the  vessels.  This  done,  loosen  the  clams  sufficiently  to  observe 
whether  there  be  any  flow  of  blood.  Gently  wipe  the  end  of  the 
cord,  also,  with  the  finger,  as  sometimes  an  accidental  small  plug 
gets  within  the  vessel;  this  had  better  be  removed  at  the  time. 
Retain  a  hold  on  the  clams  a  few  minutes  longer;  and,  while 
loosening  them  gradually,  observe  to  have  an  iron  in  readiness 
again  to  touch  the  end  of  the  cord,  if  any  blood  makes  its  appear- 
ance. Satisfied  on  this  point,  sponge  the  parts  with  cold  water. 
No  sort  of  external  application  is  necessary,  still  less  any  resin 
seared  on  the  end  of  the  cord,  which  can  only  irritate,  and  will 
never  adhere. 

On  the  after-treatment  much  difference  of  opinion  has  existed, 
and  even  yet  exists.  The  powerful  evidence  of  accumulated  facts 
has  now  convinced  us  of  the  necessity  and  propriety  of  some  mo- 
tion for  the  newly  castrated  horse,  as  a  preventive  of  local  con- 
gestion. Such  practice  is  common  in  most  countries,  and  seems 
salutary  in  all.  Hurtrel  d'Arboval,  thus  impressed,  recommends 
the  horse,  immediately  af+er  the  operation,  to  be  led  out  to  walk 
for  an  hour;  and  it  is  a  general  plan  in  France  to  walk  such  horses 
in  hand  an  hour  night  and  morning.  Mr.  Goodwin,  in  proof  of  its 
not  being  hurtful,  informs  us  that  whole  studs  of  horses,  brought 
to  St.  Petersburg  to  be  operated  on,  are  immediately  traveled 
back  a  certain  portion  of  the  distance,  night  and  morning,  until 
they  arrive  at  home.  We  have,  therefore,  no  hesitation  in  recom- 
mending a  moderate  degree  of  motion  in  preference  to  absolute 
rest. 

The  French  method  of  castration  is  advocated  by  Mr.  Goodwin, 
and  it  is  sufficient  that  it  receives  his  recommendation  to  entitle 
it  to  attention.  It  is  rendered  the  more  so,  as  he  observes,  on 
the  method  in  general  use  among  us,  '  that  the  operation  per- 
formed by  the  actual  cautery  always  induces,  more  or  less,  symp- 
toms that  often  become  alarming,  and  that  it  can  not  he  performed 
on  the  adult  without  incurring  more  swelling  and  severer  conse- 
quences than  attend  other  methods  of  operation.  If  I  ever  use 
the  actual  cautery,  it  is  for  the  sake  of  expedition,  and  then  only 
T>n  a  yearling  or  a  two-year  old ;  but  I  am  resolved  never  to  em- 


^50  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERl. 

ploy  it  again  on  an  adult.'    These  observations,  as  emanating  f-om 
such  a  source,  must  be  deemed  important. 

Mr.  Goodwin  then  offers  the  description  of  the  French  method 
of  operating,  from  Hurtrel  d'Arboval :  '  Castration  by  means  of 
the  clams  is  the  method  in  general  use,  if  not  the  only  one  now 
employed.  It  is  the  most  ancient,  since  it  was  recommended  by 
Hieroclius  among  the  Greeks.  It  is  performed  in  two  ways,  the 
testicle  being  covered  or  uncovered.  In  the  former,  the  exterior 
of  the  scrotum,  formed  by  the  skin  and  dartos  muscle,  is  cut 
through,  and  the  testicle  is  brought  out  by  dissecting  away  the 
laminated  tissue,  the  gland  being  covered  by  the  tunica  vaginalis. 
The  clam  is  then  placed  above  the  epididymis,  outside  the  external 
peritoneal  covering  of  the  cord.  In  the  uncovered  operation,  the 
incision  is  made  through  the  servus  capsule  of  the  testicle.  The 
tunica  vaginalis  being  divided,  the  testicle  presents  itself,  and  the 
clam  is  placed  well  above  the  epididymis,  on  the  cord.  The  ope- 
ration, performed  in  either  way,  requires  us  to  provide  ourselves 
with  a  scalpel,  a  pair  of  clams,  a  pair  of  long  pincers,  made  pur- 
posely to  bring  the  ends  of  the  clams  together,  and  some  waxed 
string.  The  clams  may  be  formed  of  different  kinds  of  wood,  but 
the  alder  is  considered  the  best,  and  generally  made  use  of.  To 
make  a  clam,  we  procure  a  branch  of  old  and  dry  alder,  whose 
diameter  should  be  about  an  inch,  and  whose  length  should  be 
from  five  to  six  inches;  of  course,  the  dimensions  must,  at  all 
times,  be  proportioned  to  the  size  of  the  cord  we  have  to  operate 
on.  At  the  distance  of  half  an  inch  from  each  end,  a  small  nick, 
sufficiently  deep  to  hold  the  string,  must  be  made,  and  then  the 
wood  should  be  sawed  through  the  middle  lengthways.  Each 
divided  surface  should  be  planed,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  opening 
of  the  clams,  either  when  about  to  place  them  on  or  take  them 
off.  The  pith  of  the  wood  is  then  to  be  taken  out,  and  the  hollow 
should  be  filled  with  corrosive  sublimate  and  flour,  mixed  with 
sufficien  wa+er  to  form  it  into  a  paste.  Some  persons  are  not  in 
the  habit  of  using  any  caustic  whatever;  then,  of  course,  scooping 
out  of  the  inside  of  the  clam  is  not  necessary.  Notwithstanding, 
the  caustic,  inasmuch  as  it  produces  a  speedier  dissolution  of  the 
parts,  must  be  useful,  and  ought  not  to  be  neglected.'  The  addi- 
tion of  the  caustic,  however,  Mr.  Goodwin  objects  to,  with  great 
reason,  remarking  that,  unless  it  be  a  very  strong  one,  and  there- 
fore dangerous  to  employ,  it  can  not  be  of  any  use  to  parts  com- 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  25l 

pressed  and  deprived  of  circulation  and  life.  He  further  informs 
us  that  he  has  operated  in  six  cases  in  succession  with  tie  same 
effect,  without  any  escharotic  matter  whatever.  An  experimental 
case  of  Mr.  Percivall's  terminated  fatally.  By  the  use  of  caustic 
the  cord  was  greatly  inflamed,  as  high  as  the  ring,  and  which, 
unquestionably,  produced  the  unfortunate  result. 

'  The  covered  operation,'  continues  Mr.  Goodwin,  '  is  the  one 
that  I  am  about  to  advocate,  and  which  differs  only  insomuch  that 
the  scrotum  and  dartos  muscle  must  be  cautiously  cut  through, 
without  dividing  the  tunica  vaginalis.  It  was  Monsieur  Berger 
who  was  accidentally  at  my  house  when  I  was  about  to  castrate  a 
horse,  and  who,  on  my  saying  that  I  should  probably  do  it  with 
the  cautery,  expressed  his  surprise  that  I  should  perform  the  oper- 
ation in  any  other  way  than  on  the  plan  generally  approved  of 
in  France.  Being  a  stranger  to  it,  he  kindly  consented  to  preside 
at  the  operation,  and,  after  seeing  him  perform  on  the  near  tes- 
ticle, I  did  the  same  on  the  right,  but,  of  course,  not  with  the  same 
facility.  After  opening  the  scrotum,  and  dissecting  through  the 
dartos,  which  is  very  readily  done  by  passing  the  knife  lightly  over 
its  fibers,  the  testicle  and  its  covering,  the  tunica  vaginalis,  must 
be  taken  in  the  right  hand,  while  the  left  should  be  employed  in 
pushing  back  the  scrotum  from  its  attachments ;  and,  having  your 
assistant  ready,  as  before,  with  the  clam,  it  must  be  placed  well 
above  the  epididymis,  and  greater  pressure  is,  of  course,  necessary, 
as  the  vaginal  covering  is  included  in  the  clam.' 

Mr.  Goodwin  further  observes  that  in  Russia  he  has  seen  hun- 
dreds of  horses  operated  on,  even  after  the  human  fashion,  with 
safety ;  and,-  he  remarks,  it  certainly  produces  less  pain,  the  animal 
loses  less  flesh  and  condition,  and  is  sooner  recovered  than  when 
operated  on  by  the  actual  cautery. 

Castration  by  ligature  is  a  painful,  barbarous,  and  very  danger- 
ous practice,  and  consists  in  inclosing  the  testicles  and  scrotum 
within  ligatures,  until  mortification  occurs,  and  they  drop  off.  It 
is  practiced  by  some  breeders  on  their  young  colts,  but  it  is  always 
hazardous  and  disgracefully  cruel.  The  substance  of  the  testicle, 
in  some  countries,  is  also  broken  down,  either  by  rubbing  or  other- 
wise by  pressure  between  two  hard  bodies.  This  is  practiced  in 
Algiers,  instead  of  excision,  and  tetanus  is  a  frequent  consequence 
of  it.  In  Portugal  they  twist  round  the  testicle,  and  thus  stop  the 
circulation  of  the  gland.     Division  of  the  vas  deferens  has  l.oen 


'15'1  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

performed,  it  is  said,  with  success,  on  many  animals,  and  is  pro- 
posed as  a  safe  and  less  painful  process  than  the  emasculation  of 
the  horse.  It  consists  in  a  longitudinal  section  through  the  scro- 
tum, dartos,  and  vaginal  sheath,  so  as  to  expose  the  cord,  from 
which  the  vas  deferens  is  to  be  separated  and  severed  from  the 
artery  and  vein.  There  is  a.  certain  consent  of  parts,  by  which 
the  sympathy  of  an  organ  remains  after  its  functional  offices  are 
apparently  destroyed.  There  can  be  little  doubt  but  the  nervous 
excitement  would  continue,  the  vein  and  artery  remaining  entire. 
There  are  certain  nice  conditions  of  the  organ  necessary  for  prop- 
agation. Thus,  the  horse  who  retains  his  testicles  within  his  abdo- 
men, possesses  all  the  roguish  qualities  of  him  with  one  perfectly 
evolved ;  he  is  lustful,  and  can  cover,  but  is  seldom  fruitful. 

Of  the  morbid  consequences  of  castration  we  have  little  to  say. 
By  early  evacuations,  green  food,  a  loose  box,  a  cool  air,  moderate 
clothing,  but,  particularly,  by  walking  exercise,  swellings  of  the 
parts  may  be  prevented ;  if  not,  bleed  and  foment.  Should  sup- 
puration follow,  and  sinuses  form,  treat  as  directed  under  those 
heads ;  and  if  tetanic  symptoms  start  up,  refer  to  that  article. 
There  has  been  lately  practiced  in  India  a  novel  mode  of  castra- 
tion, which  is  said  to  be  the  invention  of  a  Boer,  settled  at  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  cord  is  exposed  in  the  usual  manner. 
From  the  cord  the  artery  is  singled  out.  This  vessel  is  scraped 
through  with  a  coarse-edged,  blunt  knife,  when  the  other  constitu- 
tents  of  the  cord  are  cut  away,  and  the  operation  is  finished.  This 
method  is  much  praised  by  those  who  have  adopted  it,  and  is  said 
to  be  always  attended  with  success. 

Lithotomy. 

Hurtrel  d'Arboval's  account  of  the  progress  of  lithotomy  in  vet- 
erinary practice  commences  in  1774;  the  second  case  was  success- 
fully operated  on  in  1794 ;  and  at  later  periods  other  veterinary 
surgeons  have  also  performed  it.  In  monodactyles  there  are  two 
methods  of  operating  for  the  stone — one  through  fhe  rectum,  the 
other  through  the  bladder.  The  first,  which  consists  in  laying 
open  the  bladder  by  a  longitudinal  incision  made  through  the 
parietes  of  the  part  of  the  rectum  adherent  to  it,  by  means  of  a 
straight  bistoury,  is  easily  practiced,  but  in  its  consequences  is 
dangerous  in  the  extreme  ;  in  fact,  it  is  an  operation  never  to  b<» 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  255 

adopted  but  in  a  case  where  the  magnitude  of  the  stone  precludes 
its  extraction  through  the  neck  of  the  bladder.  In  all  other  cases, 
lithotomy  by  the  urethra  is  to  be  pursued.  For  _ts  performance 
are  required  a  straight  probe-pointed  bistoury,  a  whalebone  fluted 
staff,  and  a  pair  of  forceps,  curved  at  the  extremities.  The  ani- 
mal should,  if  practicable,  be  maintained  in  the  erect  posture. 
The  tail  plaited  and  carried  round  on  the  right  quarter,  the  opera- 
tor feels  for  the  end  of  the  staff  introduced  up  the  urethra,  and 
makes  an  incision  directly  upon  it,  from  above  downward,  an  inch 
and  a  half  or  two  inches  in  length.  Next,  he  introduces  the  sound, 
and  passes  it  onward  into  the  bladder.  Now,  placing  the  back  of 
the  bistoury  within  the  groove  of  the  sound,  by  gliding  the  knife 
forward,  the  pelvic  portion  of  the  urethra,  and  also  the  neck  of  the 
bladder,  becomes  slit  open — the  latter  in  two  places,  in  consequence 
of  a  second  cut  being  made  in  withdrawing  the  bistoury.  The 
opening  made  being,  considered  of  sufficient  dimensions,  the  oper- 
ator introduces  the  forceps  into  the  bladder,  and  seizes  the  calculus, 
one  hand  being  up  the  rectum,  to  aid  him  in  so  doing.  The  for- 
ceps, clasping  the  stone,  are  now  to  be  withdrawn,  but  with  gen- 
tleness, and  with  a  vacillating  sort  of  movement  of  the  hand 
from  side  to  side,  in  order  more  easily  to  surmount  any  difficulties 
in  the  passage,  and  the  more  effectually  to  avoid  confusion  or 
laceration.  M.  Girard  tells  us  '  that  the  cut  through  the  pelvic 
portion  of  the  urethra  ought  always  to  be  made  obliquely  to  one 
side.  The  operator  should  hold  his  bistoury  in  such  a  direction 
that  its  cutting  edge  be  turned  toward  the  angle  of  the  thigh.  By 
this  procedure  we  shall  gain  easier  access  to  the  bladder,  and  not 
only  avoid  wounding  the  rectum,  but  also  the  artery  of  the  bulb, 
as  well  as  the  bulb  itself,  and  suspensory  ligaments  of  the  penis. 
The  parts  cut  through  in  the  operation  are,  1st,  the  fine  thin 
skin  of  the  perineum,  smooth  externally,  and  marked  with  a 
raphe ;  densely  cellular  internally ;  2d,  adhering  to  the  tissue,  the 
fascial  covering,  derived  from  the  fascia  superficialis  abdominis, 
whhh  has  here  become  fibrous,  it  forms  the  common  envelope  to 
the  parts  underneath,  and  is  closely  connected  with  the  corpus 
mnsculosum  urethra? ;  3d,  the  corpus  musculosum  urethra?,  that 
penniform  band  of  fleshy  fibers  which  springs  by  two  branches 
from  the  ischiatic  tuberosities  embracing  the  sphincter  ani,  and 
concealing  the  arteries  of  the  bulb,  whence  they  unite,  and  pro- 
ceed to  envelop  the  urethra ;  4th,  the  corpus  spongiosum  urethrse, 


254  DADD&  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

the  part  immediately  covered  by  the  muscular  envelope,  and  which 
here  is  bulbous  (it  is  more  particularly  worthy  our  remark,  froD 
two  arteries  penetrating  the  bulb,  which  come  from  without  th* 
pelvis,  ascending  obliquely  outward  to  reach  the  part) ;  5th,  tin 
suspensory  ligaments  of  the  penis,  pursuing  the  course  of,  and  ad 
hering  to,  the  tendinous  union  of  the  erectores.     An  attention  to 
the  relative  position  of  these  parts  will  demonstrate  the  advantages 
i-f  the  lateral  oblique  incision  over  one  made  directly  along  the 
raphe.     By  pursuing  the  latter,  we  necessarily  cut  through  tli  3 
suspensory  ligaments  and  into  the  bulb,  wounding  thereby  the 
arteries ;  whereas,  by  the  former,  all  this  danger  is  avoided,  besides 
that  it  renders  the  operation  more  simple  and  facile. 

Tracheotomy  (Cutting  into  the  Windpipe). 

Cases  occur  when  this  operation  is  required,  as  in  strangles, 
when  the  tumors  threaten  suffocation,  or  when  any  substance  has 
remained  unswallowed  in  the  oesophagus,  the  pressure  of  which 
obstructs  respiration.  In  a  distressing  case  of  gunpowder  burst- 
ing immediately  under  a  horse's  nose,  the  effects  of  which  tumefied 
his  mouth  and  nostrils,  so  as  to  prevent  free  inspiration,  the  ani- 
mal owed  his  life  entirely  to  our  excising  a  portion  from  the 
tracheal  rings,  about  ten  inches  below  the  angle  of  the  throat. 
The  operation  is  a  very  simple  one,  and  may -consist  either  in  a 
longitudinal  section  made  through  two  or  three  of  the  rings,  or  a 
portion,  occupying  about  an  inch  round,  may  be  excised  from  the 
anterior  cartilaginous  substance.  The  proper  mode,  when  it  can 
be  done,  however,  is  to  make  a  circular  opening  with  a  very  nar- 
row knife,  removing  a  portion  of  two  cartilages,  or  taking  a  semi- 
circular piece  from  each ;  and  this  last,  although  it  is  seldom 
performed,  is  by  far  the  best  method.  The  integuments  should 
be  first  divided  in  the  exact  center  of  the  neck,  three  or  four  inches 
below  the  obstruction ;  then  the  skin  and  tissues  should  be  suffi- 
ciently separated  to  allow  a  tube  adapted  to  the  size  of  the  trachea 
to  be  introduced,  the  tube  having  an  acute  turn  and  a  rim,  which 
must  be  furnished  with  holes  for  the  adaptation  of  tapes,  to  secure 
it  around  the  neck.  There  are  several  instruments  of  this  sort  iu 
use,  of  which  that  adopted  by  the  French,  or  the  one  invented 
by  Mr.  Gowing,  of  Camden  Town,  is  to  be  preferred.  The  oper- 
ation has  been  also  performed  in  cases  of  roaring,  under  an  idea 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  255 

of  dividing  the  stricture  which  impeded  respiration;  but,  unless 
the  exact  situation  of  this  were  discovered,  it  would  be  but  an  ex- 
perimental attempt. 

(ESOPHAGOTOMY  (OPENING  THE  GULLET). 

It  was  long  thought  that  a  wound  in  the  oesophagus  nr.ist  be 
necessarily  fatal,  but  we  have  now  sufficient  proofs  to  the  contrary 
on  record,  so  that  we  are  not  deterred  from  cut',  ng  into  the  oesopha- 
geal tube  when  it  is  necessary ;  but  it  is  an  operation  requiring 
skill  and  anatomical  knowledge,  and  its  future  results  are  some- 
times very  serious.  The  cases  that  call  for  cesophagotomy  are  the 
lodgment  of  accidental  substances  within  the  tube.  An  apple 
once  so  lodged  was  removed  by  incision  by  a  veterinary  surgeon 
at  Windsor.  Carrots,  parsnips,  beets,  etc.,  are  liable  to  produce 
sueh  obstruction  when  not  sliced.  Too  large  a  medicinal  mass, 
also,  has  lodged  there ;  and  a  voracious  eater  has,  by  attempting 
to  swallow  too  large  a  quantity  of  not  salivated  bran  or  chaff,  pro- 
duced an  obstruction,  which  pressed  on  the  trachea  and  threatened 
suffocation.  In  all  cases  of  obstruction  of  this  kind,  we  will  sup 
pose  that  a  probang,  well  oiled,  has  been  previously  attempted  to 
be  passed,  and  has  completely  failed.  The  probang  for  the  horse, 
however,  differs  materially  from  that  used  for  the  cow.  It  is 
formed  after  the  fashion  of  the  one  adopted  by  the  human  prac- 
titioner, consisting  of  a  pliable  piece  of  whalebone,  having  a  sjjonge 
tied  to  one  end.  The  operation  being  determined  on,  may  be 
practiced  standing.  If  the  swelling  be  large,  no  fear  need  be  en- 
tertained about  cutting  important  organs,  as  the  enlargement  will 
push  them  on  one  side.  Cut  down,  therefore,  directly  upon  the 
center  of  the  impacted  substance.  If  the  horse  be  cast,  which  is 
quite  unnecessary,  have  him,  of  course,  thrown  with  his  left  side 
uppermost.  It  will  also  be  necessary  to  command  a  good  light. 
The  part  of  the  neck  chosen  for  the  opening  must,  of  course,  be 
governed  by  the  obstructing  mass.  A  section  should  be  made 
through  the  integuments  and  cellular  tissue  beneath  them,  right 
into  the  oesophagus,  if  possible,  with  one  cut,  and  into  the  center 
of  the  pipe.  If  this  be  not  done  at  once,  and  it  requires  some 
dexterity  so  as  to  effect  it,  mind  to  make  all  future  incisions  in  a 
line  with  the  first  opening,  as  it  is  important  that  the  cellular  tis- 
sue should  be  little  interfered  with.  The  oesophagus,  fairly  cut 
into  the  impactment,  should  jump  forth.     Should  it  not  do  so,  do 


25U  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

not  manipulate,  or  attempt  to  force  it  out,  but  enlarge  the  opening, 
and  the  substance  will  come  through  when  that  is  long  enough ; 
but  no  fingering  could  compel  its  exit  while  the  opening  is  too 
small.  The  end  gained  for  which  the  incision  was  made  in  the 
cesophagus,  the  wound  may  be  then  closed  by  the  interrupted  su- 
tures, each  holding  a  small  piece  of  tow  above  the  orifice,  and 
having  their  ends  hanging  out  of  the  external  opening,  which 
should  also  be  brought  together  by  sutures.  The  after-treatment 
should  be  to  interdict  all  dry  food ;  the  animal  ought  to  subsist 
on  very  thick  gruel  for  three,  four,  or  five  days.  If  the  condition 
appears  to  suffer  much,  allow  malt  mashes,  and  when  so  doing 
watch  the  wound ;  and  if  the  matters  taken  in  are  seen  to  ooze  out, 
wash  them  away  frequently  with  warm  water,  to  prevent  lodg- 
ment, which  might  encourage  sinuses  to  form ;  and  after  each 
washing,  syringe  with  some  very  mild  stimulant,  as  a  very  weak 
solution  of  sulphate  of  zinc  (white  vitriol),  etc. 

Neurotomy  (Division  of  the  Sentient  Nerves  of 

the  Foot). 

Neurotomy  has  now  stood  the  test  of  very  extensive  application. 
Our  writers  offer  innumerable  proofs  of  its  restoring  almost  useless 
animals  to  a  state  of  much  utility ;  and  if  there  are  chances  that 
it  may  occasion  such  injury  as  to  hasten  the  end  of  some  horses, 
it  is  usually  in  such  as, the  disease  would  have  done  the  same  for 
at  no  distant  period.  Having  stated  thus  much  in  its  favor,  it 
must  not  be  supposed  that  we  recommend  it  as  an  unqualified 
benefit,  even  where  it  succeeds  best.  No  neurotomized  horse  ever 
after  goes  with  the  same  freedom,  nor  with  equal  safety,  as  he  did 
before  the  operation  was  performed.  Indifference  to  the  nature 
of  the  ground  gone  over  is  said  to  have  fractured  legs ;  it  is  quite 
common  to  batter  the  feet  to  pieces;  and,  although  horses  have 
hunted  afterward,  and  hackneys  have  carried  their  riders  long 
distances,  yet  it  is  more  calculated  to  prove  beneficial  to  carriage 
than  to  saddle-horses.  This  we  believe  to  be  a  just  statement  of 
its  merits ;  but  there  are  benefits  which  it  offers  to  the  animal  of 
a  more  extensive  ana  constitutional  kind.  Those  gained  by  the 
bodily  system  generally  have  been,  in  some  cases,  very  marked. 
Thus,  an  aged  and  crippled  stallion,  from  the  irritation  constantly 
kept  up,  became  so  emaciated  as  to  be  unable  to  fecundate ;  but, 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  257 

being  lelieved  from  a  constant  state  of  suffering  by  neurotomy, 
improved  in  health  and  condition,  and  was  again  used  to  cover. 
It  happened,  also,  that  a  mare,  similarly  circumstanced,  ceased  to 
feel  oestrum ;  but  after  neurotomy  it  again  returned,  and  she  re- 
sumed her  character  of  a  brood-mare.  It  appears  to  act  with 
most  certainty  when  a  portion  of  the  irritated  nerve  is  excised. 
One  case  has  actually  occurred  where  the  tetanus,  occasioned  by 
a  wound  in  the  foot,  was  arrested  and  removed  by  neurotomy. 
It  also  promises  much  in  the  painful  state  of  some  cankers,  where 
the  irritation  has  rendered  the  application  of  dressings  almost  im- 
possible. Here,  by  depriving  the  foot  of  sensibility,  we  deprive 
the  horse  of  that  which  is  injurious  to  him.  The  sore  itself  is 
often  amended  by  it;  but  in  every  instance  the  dressings  can  be 
effectively  applied,  and  the  healthy  processes  can  not  be  at  all 
suspended. 

AVith  respect  to  whether  the  lower  or  upper  incision  ought  to 
have  the  preference,  the  decision  should  be  guided  by  the  circum- 
stances, as  regards  the  intensify  and  the  seat  of  the  disease.  The 
operation  commonly  leaves,  for  a  considerable  time,  some  enlarge- 
ment around  the  spot,  the  effects  of  the  adhesive  matter  interposed 
between  the  severed  portions  of  the  nerve,  and  which  can  be  rem- 
edied by  no  application  of  bandages.  This  bulging  remains  so 
long  as  life  continues;  and,  however  cunningly  the  incision  be 
concealed,  this  can  be  felt  with  ease,  and  tells  the  truth  ever  after 
the  operation  has  been  performed.  Such  a  circumstance  has,  how- 
ever, led  some  practitioners,  when  it  has  been  wished  to  make  the 
upper  section,  and  yet  to  avoid  the  chance  of  detection,  to  operate 
on  the  metacarpal  nerve  on  the  outside,  and  on  the  pastern  or 
plantar  nerve  on  the  inside. 

Mode  of  performing  the  operation. — The  situation  of  the  section 
through  the  skin  being  determined  on,  a  guide  to  which  may  be 
gained  from  the  perforatus  tendon,  and  having  firmly  secured  the 
leg  to  be  first  operated  on,  cut  the  hair  from  the  part.  This  being 
done,  and  the  exact  course  of  the  artery  being  ascertained  by  its 
pulsation,  make  a  section  close  to  the  edge  of  the  flexor  tendon. 
Let  the  cut  be  near,  but  rather  behind,  the  artery,  if  below  the  fet- 
lock joint.  Tlie  cellular  substance  being  cleared  away  will  bring 
the  vessels  into  view,  and  the  nerve  will  be  readily  distinguished 
from  them  by  its  whiteness.  Elevating  it  from  the  vessels  and 
it.s  membranous  attachments,  by  means  of  a  crooked  needle,  armed 
17 


258  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURUK.m 

vrith  thread,  pass  a  bistoury  under  it,  as  near  to  the  upper  angle 
of  the  section  as  possible.  The  violent  spasm  the  division  of  the 
nerve  produces  may  be  somewhat  lessened  by  pressing  the  nerve 
between  the  finger  and  the  thumb,  when  an  opportunity  may  be 
taken,  either  with  the  scalpel  or  scissors,  of  dividing  it;  then, 
taking  hold  of  the  lowermost  portion  between  a  pair  of  forceps, 
i  xcise  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  of  its  trunk.  Having  fin  • 
ished,  if  both  feet  are  affected,  proceed  to  operate  on  the  contrary 
side  of  the  other  leg;  after  which  turn  the  horse,  and  repeat  the 
operations  on  the  like  parts  of  each  leg  as  they  come  in  succession. 
The  integuments  may  be  now  drawn  neatly  together,  and  secured 
by  a  twisted  suture,  the  whole  being  properly  covered  by  a  light 
compress.  Tie  up  the  head  for  a  day  or  two,  after  which  put  on 
a  cradle.  Keep  the  horse  very  quiet  and  low;  give  mashes,  tc 
open  the  bowels ;  but  we  should  avoid  physicking,  from  the  fear 
that  griping  might  occur,  which  would  make  him  restless,  or  prob- 
ably require  exercise. 

Periosteotomy  (Removing  a  Tumor  from  Surface  of  Bone). 

This  operation  consists  in  having  the  horse  thrown  upon  his 
side,  and  the  leg  to  be  operated  upon  released  from  the  hobble, 
and  extended  upon  a  sack,  filled  with  refuse  hay  or  straw.  This 
is  done  by  means  of  a  piece  of  webbing  passed  round  the  hoof,  and 
the  end  given  to  a  man  to  hold,  who  pulls  rather  violently  at  the 
member.  The  operator  then  kneels  down  and  feels  for  the  exos- 
tosis he  intends  to  perform  periosteotomy  upon.  This  may  be  a 
splint  or  a  node,  and  commonly  exists  upon  the  metacarpal  portion 
of  the  fore-limb.  The  operator  having  found  the  excrescence,  snips 
just  below  it  with  a  pair  of  rowelling  scissors.  He  then  takes  a 
blunt  seton-needle  and  drives  it  through  the  cellular  tissue,  and 
immediately  over  the  enlargement.  Next,  another  slit  in  the 
skin,  above  the  exostosis,  is  made  with  the  rowelling  scissors,  and 
through  this  last  opening  the  point  of  the  seton-needle  is  forced 
and  then  withdrawn.  Into  the  free  space  thus  made  a  curved 
knife  is  introduced.  The  point  of  this  knife  is  blunt,  and  the 
blade  curves  upward,  the  cutting  part  being  below.  Some  per- 
sons use  a  very  diminutive  blade,  but  the  editor  prefers  a  rather 
large  instrument,  as  being  more  under  the  command  of  the  hand. 
Having  introduced  this  knife,  he  turns  the  'jutting  edge  downward, 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  259 

and  with  it  incises  the  enlargement,  sending  the  blade  right  through 
the  periosteum,  and  also  through  the  substance  of  the  exostosis,  if 
it  be  not  too  solid  for  the  knife  to  penetrate.  This  latter  fact  is 
only  to  be  ascertained  by  actual  experience,  and  no  opinion  formed 
after  an  external  examination  can  be  of  any  value,  such  being  muoh 
more  the  guess  of  a  pretender  than  the  judgment  of  a  surgeon. 
The  age  of  the  animal  may  be  some  guide,  but  even  this  it  is 
better  not  to  depend  upon  too  entirely.  It  is  true  that  young 
horses  freely  cast  forth  exostoses,  which  aged  animals  mostly 
absorb;  but  this  rule,  though  very  general,  has  exceptions,  and 
by  no  means  is  to  be  absolutely  depended  upon. 

The  enlargement  being  cut  through,  next  take  a  seton-needle, 
armed  with  a  tape,  and  draw  it  through  the  channel  already  made. 
Tie  a  knot  at  either  end  of  the  tape,  large  enough  to  prevent  its 
being  pulled  through  the  opening  at  either  end,  and  the  business 
is  over.  The  affair  is  very  simple,  and  the  horse  may  be  at  once 
let  up.  It  is,  however,  in  some  cases,  and  only  in  some,  of  so  much 
benefit  that  the  horse,  being  thrown  '  dead  lame/  gets  up  and  trots 
off  quite  sound.  However,  ere  you  adopt  the  operation,  apprise 
the  owner  of  the  risk  incurred,  and  that  it  is  by  no  means  a  cer- 
tain cure.  Leave  the  choice  with  him,  but  be  sure  and  tell  him 
the  opening  made  for  the  entrance  and  exit  of  the  seton  com- 
monly leave  a  blemish  behind  them ;  and  where  the  seton  trav- 
eled, often  there  remains  a  thickening,  which  it  may  require  months 
to  obliterate. 

The  after  part  of  the  treatment  consists  in  merely  having  the 
seton  daily  moved  to  and  fro,  though  some  persons  apply  an  active 
blister  all  over  the  parts  immediately  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
seton,  under  the  idea  that  the  vesicatory  renders  the  operation  of 
greater  efficacy,  which,  however,  is  very  questionable.  When  pe- 
riosteotomy acts  at  all,  it  mostly  does  so  at  once ;  and  when  it» 
benefits  are  not  immediate,  it  is  better  to  withdraw  the  seton,  to 
prevent  after-blemish,  rather  than  hazard  further  and  useless  treat- 
ment by  the  application  of  a  stimulant  to  skin  already  deprived 
of  any  connection  with  the  deeper-seated  structures. 

Division  of  the  Flexoe  Tendon. 

There  are  so  many  accidents  and  diseases  that  may  produce 
contraction  of  the  flexor  tendons,  that  we  only  wonder  we  do  not 


260  UADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

more  often  meet  with  them,  which  we  should  certainly  do,  but 
that  the  attendants,  despairing  of  being  able  to  afford  relief,  ad- 
vise their  destruction.  The  operation  consists  in  making  a  longi- 
tudinal incision,  of  about  three  inches  in  length,  along  the  inner 
lateral  edge  of  the  tendon,  dissecting  each  portion  from  its  cellular 
attachments,  so  as  to  expose  the  nerve,  artery,  and  tendons.  Thi& 
opening  will  allow  the  perforans  to  be  freed  from  the  perforatus, 
when  a  division  should  be  made  by  a  scalpel  applied  to  its  surface, 
It  is  evident  that  this  should  take  place  below  any  thickening,  or 
adhesions,  which  may  have  permanently  connected  the  tendon  with 
the  neighboring  parts.  Any  lesser  attachments  will  be  broken 
through,  by  forcing  back  the  foot  to  the  just  position.  By  Mr. 
Dick  this  was  done  '  by  placing  his  knee  against  the  front  or  pro- 
jecting part  of  the  pastern,  at  the  same  time  laying  hold  of  the 
foot  with  one  hand  and  the  upper  part  of  the  leg  with  the  other, 
and  using  considerable  force ;  and  this  appears  to  be  necessary,  in 
order  to  break  any  adhesions  that  may  have  formed/  The  limb 
should  now  be  placed  in  a  poultice;  and  if  any  fear  of  future  con- 
traction should  arise  dunng  the  cure,  lengthen  the  toe  of  the  shoe 
proper  to  the  foot  operated  on.  Some  slow  exercise,  after  the 
first  week,  may  be  allowed,  but  previously  to  that  the  horse  should 
be  confined  to  a  stall,  during  which  the  bowels  must  be  kept  open 
with  mashes. 

Amputations. 

These  have  been  hitherto  confined  principally  to  the  tail,  the 
ears,  and  other  parts  of  minor  importance  in  the  animal  frame ; 
but  veterinary  surgery  now  takes  a  wider  field,  and  the  extremi- 
ties are  amputated  with  a  certainty  of  making  horned  cattle  still 
serviceable  for  the  purpose  of  yielding  milk ;  and,  without  doubt, 
the  same  might  be  done  with  the  brood-mare  or  stallion,  particu- 
larly in  fractures  of  the  fore  extremities. 

Professor  Dick,  of  the  Edinburgh  Veterinary  College,  furnishes 
a  case,  sent  to  him  by  one  of  his  pupils,  to  the  following  effect : 
'I  performed  amputation  upon  a  cow  on  the  7th  of  July.  After 
having  properly  secured  the  animal,  and  applied  a  torniquet  above 
the  carpus,  I  made  a  circular  incision  through  the  integuments 
round  the  leg,  a  little  below  the  carpus;  and,  having  separated 
the  skin  so  as  to  allow  of  its  being  pushed  up  a  little,  I  cut  through 
the  sinews,  and  lastly  sawed  off  the  stump.     The  parts  are  now 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  2C1 

completely  whole,  although  she  has  been  going  at  grass  all  the 
time,  and,  now  that  she  has  got  the  advantage  of  a  cork  stump, 
makes  a  wonderful  shift  for  herself,  and  yields  a  good  supply  of 
milk  to  her  owner.' 

Mr.  Dick  also  notices  another  case  of  amputation  of  the  fore-leg 
of  a  two-year  old  heifer ;  and  of  a  third,  where  the  hind  leg  was 
removed  above  the  tarsus.  Such  operations  have  occasionally  oc- 
curred from  time  immemorial,  with  a  few  enterprising  characters. 
We  have  heard  of  them,  but  they  were  mostly  regarded  as  mere 
matters  of  curiosity  or  wonder,  and,  therefore,  were  not  imitated. 
We  shall,  however,  probably,  erelong  have  them  more  common, 
in  cows,  at  least ;  for,  occurring  below  the  carpus  and  tarsus,  they 
are  as  easily  performed  as  nicking  or  docking;  and  there  is  no 
doubt  but,  were  a  hollow  padded  stump  applied,  such  low  opera- 
tions might  be  prudent  in  many  cases.  Fractures,  with  great 
comminution  of  bone,  considerable  ravages  of  disease  within  the 
foot,  or  extensive  gangrene,  are  the  cases  which  might  call  for  am- 
putation. 

Of  the  method  of  amputation  little  need  be  added  to  the  above. 
The  principal  practical  points  are,  the  fixing  of  a  torniquet  of 
sufficient  force,  which  should  be  padded  to  make  its  principal 
pressure  on  the  leading  arterial  trunks,  while  its  general  circumfer- 
ence will  act  on  the  smaller  vessels.  A  ring  should  be  cut  lightly 
below  the  intended  place  of  operation,  only  through  the  integu- 
ments, which,  when  separated  from  their  cellular  adhesions  for 
about  six  inches,  should  be  turned  back;  and  a  circular  incision 
may  then  be  made  through  the  muscles,  etc.,  taking  up  by  liga- 
ture such  vessels,  both  venous  and  arterial,  as  display  a  disposition 
for  much  hemorrhage.  The  section  thus  made,  free  the  bone  from 
the  soft  parts  by  the  scalpel,  where  the  adherences  are  very  inti- 
mate, and,  having,  by  means  of  a  crucial  bandage,  retracted  the 
soft  parts  altogether  above  the  bone,  saw  it  through.  Finally 
effectually  secure  the  principal  vessels,  when,  bringing  the  soft 
parts  and  skin  over  the  bone,  retain  them  there  by  proper  ban- 
daging, which  suffer  to  remain  without  disturbance  until  the  third 
or  fourth  day. 

Amputation  of  the  Penis. — Amputation  of  the  penis  is  not  un- 
known among  us.  It  has  been  performed  several  times,  and  it  is 
found  that  no  canula  is  necessary  to  keep  open  the  urethra,  the  force 
of  the  urinary  flow  breaking  down  any  incipient  cicatrization  of  its 


262  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

orifice.  The  sheath  is  first  forced  back,  and  the  penis  brought 
forward  to  its  greatest  possible  extent.  Whatever  portion  it  if» 
intended  to  remove  is  now  cut  through,  by  means  of  an  ampu- 
tating knife,  when  the  remainder  is  retracted  within  the  sheath, 
and  little  hemorrhage  has  afterward  occurred,  except  at  the  time 
of  passing  the  urine ;  but  there  appears  to  have  been  no  alarming 
quantity  of  blood  lost. 

Amputation  of  the  Tail,  or  Docking. — "We  are  most  happy  to 
state  this  filthy  and  unnecessary  operation  is  now  discarded.  It 
never  consisted  of  more  than  the  cutting  off  a  portion  of  the 
stump  with  brute  force,  and  the  cruel  application  afterward  of  a 
hot  iron  to  the  small  artery  of  the  tail. 

Nicking. 

We  should  be  grateful  that  this  barbarous  and  dangerous  pro- 
cess is  no  longer  numbered  among  the  necessary  operations.  It  ns 
so  beset  with  accidents,  which  no  skill  or  prudence  can  prevent, 
that  no  one  who  has  a  free  will  ought  to  mutilate  a  horse  by 
nicking. 

Firing. 

The  practice  of  filing  was  not  always  confined  to  quadrupeds. 
On  the  contrary,  it  probably  was  first  used  on  man ;  and  to  this 
day,  in  many  countries,  it  is  a  very  popular  remedy  among  human 
surgeons.  In  India  it  is  applied  over  the  abdomen  for  the  cure 
1  if  scirrhosity  of  the  liver. 

Firing,  in  veterinary  practice,  has,  by  Mr.  Coleman's  pupils, 
been  justified  as  only  men  will  justify  a  favorite  operation,  the 
virtues  of  which  have  been  impressed  upon  their  minds  by  an  elo- 
quent teacher.  When  Coleman  was  the  chief  of  the  veterinary 
profession,  firing,  under  his  rule,  was  used  for  any  and  every 
occasion.  It  was  ridiculously  supposed  to  act  as  a  permanent 
bandage,  as  if  a  few  strokes  with  a  heated  iron  could  destroy  the 
elastic  property  inherent  in  the  skin.  It  was  the  favorite  styptic 
of  these  practitioners,  and  was  applied  to  arteries  (as  of  the  tail) 
as  though  it  possessed  within  itself  some  medicinal  virtue.  It 
was  used  to  promote  absorption,  as  in  callus;  and  was  likewise 
resorted  to  for  checking  absorption,  as  in  ulceration.  It  was  called 
into  action  to  promote  granulation,  in  broken  knees ;  and  was  also  a 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  263 

favorite  agent  to  check  granulations,  when  they  were  too  luxuriant. 
In  short,  ^here  was  no  folly  which  a  hot  iron  did  not  cover.  It 
has  now,  happily,  fallen  into  disuse.  Most  modern  practitioners 
will  now  confess  that  their  chief  reason  for  exercising  the  iron  is 
to  satisfy  the  proprietor,  not  to  benefit  the  animal.  After  such 
an  acknowledgment,  who  would  submit  to  have  his  patient  ser- 
vant's skin  scored  and  burnt  with  red-hot  metal  ? 

The  mode  of  cauterization  differs  according  to  circumstances. 
As  a  general  rule,  it  ought,  of  course,  to  be  applied  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  hair,  by  which  the  blemish  is  lessened ;  but  this  rule 
can  not  be  arbitrarily  followed,  although  it  ought  to  do  away  with 
all  the  false  pride  of  displaying  the  taste  in  the  figures  scored  upon 
a  prostrate  beast.  The  Veterinary  College  recommends  that  the 
limbs  be  always  fired  in  perpendicular  lines ;  others  advocate  all 
manner  of  fanciful  marks.  Some  cast  the  horse  ;  many  surgeons 
perform  standing.  The  irons  used  are  of  various  shapes  and  di- 
mensions. Some  recommend  the  firing,  of  all  things,  to  be  very 
light;  others  persist  there  is  no  virtue  in  hot  iron  unless  it  burns 
very  deep.  The  operation  consists  in  having  irons  of  some  sub- 
stance made  red-hot,  and  then  drawing  them  mechanically  along, 
or  twisting  them  about  upon  the  skin.  The  figures  are  various; 
so  is  the  depth  of  the  incision.  Both  must  be  decided  by  the  taste, 
judgment,  or  heartlessness  of  the  operator. 

Blistering. 

This  is  an  operation  of  very  great  utility,  and  is,  perhaps,  com- 
pared with  its  benefits  and  importance,  the  safest  that  is  performed. 
When  a  vesicatory  becomes  absorbed  through  the  pores  of  the 
skin,  it  inflames  the  sensible  cutis  underneath,  the  consequence  of 
.v'hich  is,  an  infusion  of  serum  through  the  part,  which,  in  the 
human  subject,  elevates  the  cuticle  into  a  bladder  equal  to  the  sur- 
face inflamed,  but  in  the  horse,  from  the  greater  tenacity  of  the 
,  cuticular  connections,  it  becomes  separated  in  the  form  of  small 
distinct  vesicles  only.  If  the  irritating  cause  be  quickly  removed, 
the  serum  may  be  reabsorbed,  and  the  surface  restored  by  a  slight 
effort  of  adhesive  inflammation.  If  the  irritant  act  in  a  btil{ 
uiinoi  degree,  it  simply  irritates  the  vessels  of  the  cutis  to  an  in- 
filtration of  fluid  through  the  sensible  pores,  but  produces  no 
desquamation  of  cuticle.     Such  has  been  called  a  sweating  blister, 


264  LUUD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

But  when,  by  continued  irritation,  the  cutis  is  exposed,  suppura- 
tion succeeds,  and  the  part  is  fully  blistered. 

The  salutary  action  of  blisters  is  exerted  in  several  ways — in 
promoting  absorption,  in  combating  deep-seated  inflammations, 
and  in  aiding  others.     As  a  stimulus  to  the  absorbents,  they  act 
beneficially  in  the  removal  of  injurious  deposits,  as  the  coagula 
remaining  after  inflammatory  lesions ;  but  it  is  to  be  remarked 
that  when  any  existing  deposit  is  of  long  continuance,  or  is  osse- 
ous, it  requires  that  the  action  of  the  vesicatory  be  kept  up. 
Mercurial  blisters  have  been  thought  to  have  a  superior  influence 
in  accelerating  absorption.     Mercurials,  rubbed  in  some  weeks  or 
days  previously  to  blistering,  are  certainly  great  assistants,  and 
should  always  be  employed  in  the  treatment  of  obstinate  osseous 
or  ligamentary  enlargements.     Blisters  are  very  important  aids  in 
inflammatory  affections,  as  counter-irritants,  derived  from  a  law 
in  the  animal  economy,  that  two  inflammations  seldom  exist  in 
the  vicinity  of  each  other;  therefore,  when  such  an  affection  has 
taken  place  in  any  part,  and  we  wish  to  remove  it,  we  attempt  tc 
raise  an  artificial  inflammation  in  the  neighborhood  by  means  of 
blisters,  which,  if  persevered  in,  destroy,  or  at  least  lessen,  the 
original  one.     Occasionally,  also,  we  blister  the  immediate  inflamed 
part,  with  an  intention  to  hasten  the  suppurative  process  by  in- 
creasing the  activity  of  the  vessels,  as  in  deep-seated  abscesses,  and 
also  in  those  which  attack  glandular  parts.     We  therefore  employ 
blisters  to  hasten   the   maturation   of  the   tumors  in    strangles. 
When  the  flagging  powers  vascillate  between  resolution  and  sup- 
puration, as  they  often  do  in  the  phlegmonous  inflammations  of 
glandular  or  of  deep-seated  parts,  blisters  may  either  hasten  the 
resolution,  or  they  may  add  their  influence  to  the  attempted  sup- 
puration, and  thus  bring  it  to  maturity.     But  we  carefully  avoid, 
in  other  cases,  applying  a  vesicant  to  a  part  immediately  in  a  state 
of  active  inflammation.     Particularly  we  should  avoid  what  is  too 
often  done,  that  of  blistering  over  the  tendons,  ligaments,  and  ar- 
ticulatory  surfaces  of  a  tumid  limb,  laboring  under  a  congested 
state  of  the  parts  from  excess  of  vascular  action.     Here  we  should 
do  great  injury  were  we  to  blister,  by  causing  a  greater  deposit 
of  lymph,  and  by  hastening  its  organization  into  an  injurious  bond 
of  union  between  the  inflamed  parts. 

The  vesicatory,  or  blister,  for  general  use  in  veterinary  medi- 
cine, as  a  simple  stimulant,  should  be  principally  composed  of 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  265 

Spanish  flies.  C  reaper  substitutes  are  used,  but  they  irritate  vio- 
lently. In  extensive  inflammatory  affections,  they  are,  on  this 
account,  perfectly  inadmissible ;  and  wherever  a  case  requires  any 
thmg  more,  it  will  be  noted.  The  mode  of  blistering  with  the 
Spanish  fly  is  sufficiently  known.  The  hair  should  be  cut  or  shore 
as  close  as  possible  from  around  the  part;  the  blistering  matter 
"should  then  be  well  rubbed  in  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes.  If  the 
pasterns  and  fetlocks  are  the  parts  to  be  blistered,  previous  to  rub- 
bing in  the  ointment,  smear  some  lard,  tallow,  or  melted  suet  over 
the  heels,  and  within  the  hollow  at  the  back  of  the  small  pastern. 
This  will  often  prevent  some  troublesome  sores  forming,  from  the 
blistering  ointment  falling  on  these  sensitive  parts.  While  a  blis- 
ter is  acting,  the  litter  should  be  removed  from  under  the  feet,  or 
it  will  tickle  the  legs  and  irritate ;  but,  above  all,  the  head  ought 
to  be  most  carefully  secured,  for  two  days  and  nights,  to  oppose 
lying  down,  more  especially  to  prevent  the  horse  biting  the  blis- 
tered part.  On  the  third  evening  he  may  be  permitted  to  repose  ; 
but  a  prevention  should  even  then  be  continued,  by  means  of  what 
in  called  a  cradle.  This  apparatus  may  be  bought  at  every  turn- 
ing shop,  or  may  be  made  of  eight  or  ten  pieces  of  round  wood, 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and  two  feet  long.  These  are 
strung  at  each  end  on  a  rope,  and  fastened  around  the  neck. 
When  it  is  intended  to  blister  repeatedly,  the  effects  of  the  first 
should  have  subsided  before  the  second  is  applied,  the  scurf  and 
scabs  also  be  cleared  away,  and  the  part  well  washed  with  soap 
and  water.  In  all  cases,  the  third  or  fourth  day  after  the  applica- 
tion the  part  should  be  thoroughly  painted  over,  by  means  of  a 
!ong-haired  brush  (such  as  are  in  use  with  pastry-cooks  to  glaze 
their  crusts),  with  lead  liniment,  which  should  be  repeated  every 
day.  And  when  it  is  proposed  to  turn  a  horse  out,  it  should  never 
be  done  until  the  whole  blistered  surface  be  quite  healed ;  other- 
wise dirt,  flies,  etc.,  may  prove  hurtful. 

It  remains  to  observe  that,  instead  of  repeated  active  blistering, 
it  is,  in  some  cases,  preferable  to  keep  up  a  continual  slight  irrita- 
tion on  the  original  blister  by  means  of  stimulants,  as  iodine  oint- 
ment, mild  blistering  applications,  etc.  Caution  is,  however, 
necessary,  to  avoid  forming  an  eschar,  and  thereby  a  permanent 
blemish  ;  but  when  a  blemish  is  not  of  consequence,  this  plan  will 
be  found  often  more  efficacious  than  firing,  as  in  splints,  spavins, 
etc.     Some,  practitioners  blister  mildly  one  day,  and  on  the  next 


266  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

wash  off  the  blistering  matter,  thereby  saving  loss  of  hair;  but 
there  is  more  of  apparent  than  real  good  in  this  plan.  If  a  blis- 
ter be  necessary,  it  requires  all  its  activity. 

Ammoniacal  blister. — Spanish  flies  are  only  efficacious  when  the 
animal  can  afford  to  wait  their  action,  which  is  rather  slow.  In 
most  of  the  acute  diseases,  the  horse  would  perish  before  the  blis- 
ter began  to  rise,  wherefore  resort  has  been  had  to  boiling  water 
and  red-hot  iron.  The  action  of  these  last  coarse  and  brutal 
measures  was  alone  controlled  by  the  violence  of  the  internal  in- 
flammation, and,  if  the  practitioner  was  mistaken  in  his  estimate 
of  the  immediate  danger,  extensive  and  lasting  blemish  was  the 
consequence.  We  have  in  the  liquor  ammonia  an  agent  quite  as 
formidable  as  boiling  water  or  heated  iron,  but  it  is  rather  longer 
in  displaying  its  force ;  wherefore,  it  allows  time  for  watching  its 
action,  and  of  checking  it  the  instant  it  has  sufficiently  blistered 
the  skin.  It  is  true  the  liquor  ammonia  upon  the  skin  can  not  be 
removed,  neither  need  it  be  counteracted.  Ammonia  is  like  steam, 
only  powerful  when  confined.  The  ordinary  soap  liniment,  if 
covered  over,  would,  because  of  the  ammonia  it  contains,  produce 
a  lasting  blemish ;  but  every  veterinary  surgeon  knows  how  very 
harmless  a  preparation  that  is  when  simply  rubbed  upon  the  sur- 
face. So,  when  we  desire  the  active  effects  of  liquor  ammonia,  we 
double  a  blanket  or  rug  four  or  five  times  and  hold  it  over  the 
liquid.  It  takes  from  ten  to  twenty  minutes  to  raise  a  blister,  and 
it  consequently  can,  from  time  to  time,  be  observed;  and  when  its 
action  has  reached  the  wished-for  point,  all  we  have  to  do,  effectu- 
ally to  stop  it,  is  to  take  away  the  rug  or  blanket.  That  removed, 
the  free  surface  and  the  heat  of  the  body  occasions  the  ammoniac  d 
vapor  to  be  dispersed,  and  the  animal  is  safe. 

RO  WELLING. 

Kowels  acts  as  foreign  substances  within  the  body.  They  cause 
irritation  and  suppuration,  whereby  more  deep-seated  inflamma- 
tions are  supposed  to  be  removed.  They  are,  however,  often  very 
convenient,  because  they  stand  as  sign-boards  to  show  the  proprie- 
tor that  something  has  been  done.  The  common  mode  of  making 
a  rowel  is  after  the  following  manner:  A  slit  is  first  made  by 
means  of  the  rowel  scissors,  on  any  part  of  the  integuments,  held 
between  the  fiucrer  and  thumb.     With  the  handle  of  the  scissors 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS.  267 

separate  from  its  cellular  connections  a  circle  of  two  or  three  mche9 
in  diameter,  into  which  introduce  something  to  prevent  the  reunioi? 
of  the  skin.    A  piece  of  circular  leather,  tolerably  stiff,  with  a  cen- 
tral hole,  is  a  very  common  substance  used,  but  is  objected  to  by 
some  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  changing  it  without  injuring 
the  skin.     Tow,  as  more  pliant,  is  frequently  introduced  into  this 
cavity.     If  the  rowel  runs  freely,  it  should  be  dressed  every  day, 
by  changing  the  plug,  if  of  tow,  and  by  cleansing  it,  if  of  leather. 
No  rowel  should  go  undressed  beyond  the  second  day,  for  the  com- 
fort of  the  horse.     They  are  very  favorite  applications  with  far- 
riers, and  frequently  abused  by  being  employed  indiscriminately, 
but  are  falling  into  disuse,  setons  having  almost  superseded  them. 
Setons,  in  their  action,  resemble  a  very  mild  form  of  rowel,  but 
are  more  convenient  in  their  application.     There  is  hardly  a  part 
of  the  body  where  a  seton  may  not  be  conveniently  placed.    They 
have  been  put  around  the  eye ;  they  have  also  been  entered  at  the 
withers,  and  brought  out  between  the  humerus  and  the  sternum, 
so  extensive  or  so  diminutive  can  they  be  made.    In  sinuous  ulcers 
of  the  withers  and  of  the  neck  they  may  be  placed ;  through  the 
heels,  in  foot  diseases,  they  have  been  inserted.     In  cavernous 
sores,  they  are  entered  at  the  superior  part,  and  are  brought  out  at 
an  inferior,  so  as  to  form  a  depending  orifice.    The  formation  of  a 
seton  is  very  simple.     A  skein  of  thread,  or  a  piece  of  tape,  of  a 
convenient  size,  may  be  used.    At  the  one  end  place  a  large  knot ; 
arm  the  eye  of  a  corresponding-sized  seton-needle  with  the  free  end 
of  the  tape ;  introduce  this  into  any  proposed  part,  and,  bringing 
it  out  at  some  other,  either  make  a  second  knot,  or  tie  the  two  ends 
of  the  tape  together ;  which  last  method  of  fastening  is,  however, 
often  objected  to,  from  the  danger  of  its  catching  in  something  and 
being  torn  out,  to  the  disfigurement  of  the  horse.     AVhen  a  seton 
is  placed  in  a  sinuous  track,  for  the  purpose  of  inflaming,  it  is 
moved  twice  a  day,  frequently,  and  moistened  each  time  with 
some  stimulant,  as  oil  of  turpentine,  tincture  of  aloes  and  of  ben- 
jamin.    All  setons  require  daily  cleaning  and  moving.     When 
ihey  are  required  to  act  more  quickly,  the  tape  is  infused  in  tere- 
binthinate  of  cantharides,  or  small  pieces  of  black  hellebore  are 
sewn  within  it.     An  old  material,  composed  of  woollen,  flax,  o^ 
cotton  and  hair,  is  also  used  instead  of  tape.     Setons,  however, 
are  of  small  service  in  acute  cases.     They  are  chiefly  in  use  for 
disturbance  of  a  chronic  description. 


MSS  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

ABSTRACTION  OF  BLOOD,  OR  BLEEDING  (ARTERIOTOMY.) 

Blood  is  abstracted  by  opening  the  conducting  vessels,  arterial 
and  venous.  When  taken  from  arteries,  the  process  is  called 
arteriotomy ;  when  by  the  latter,  phlebotomy.  Some  oleedings 
include  both  these  operations,  as  general  scarifications  of  the  soft 
parts,  bleeding  at  the  toe  point,  divisions  of  the  vessels  of  the  cor- 
nea, etc.  Blood-letting  is  called  local  when  it  is  practiced  on  or 
very  near  the  affected  part ;  and  it  is  supposed  to  act  more  immedi- 
ately than  general  bleeding  because  it  produces  more  effect  with  the 
loss  of  less  blood.  Local  bleeding  is,  therefore,  usually  practiced 
on  the  minor  branches  of  the  arteries  and  veins,  as  on  the  tem- 
poral artery,  the  plate  vein,  the  vena  saphena,  etc.  Leeches  are 
a  means  of  local  bleeding  not  often  used  by  us  in  veterinary  prac- 
tice ;  but  there  is  no  reason  whatever  why  they  should  not  be  em- 
ployed. When  applied  to  the  eye,  and  occasionally  to  other  parts, 
also,  they  adhere  readily,  abstracting  blood  rapidly,  and,  there- 
fore, might  be  valuable  aids  in  violent  local  inflammation.  Cup- 
ping is  also  practiced,  in  France  and  other  parts  of  the  Continent, 
with  very  large  glasses,  and  it  is  there  supposed  to  act  remedially 
in  many  local  inflammations.  By  general  bleeding  we  under- 
stand the  depletion  of  the  system  at  large,  and  this  we  practice  in 
extensive  inflammations. 

Division  of  the  temporal  artery. — The  proper  spot  for  either  its 
puncture  or  division  is  directly  where  the  vessel  leaves  the  parotid 
gland,  to  curve  upward  and  forward  around  the  jaw,  a  little  be- 
low its  condyle.  When  it  is  punctured,  it  usually  affords  much 
blood ;  and  in  such  case,  enough  having  been  obtained,  divide  the 
trunk,  when,  the  receding  portions  becoming  pressed  by  the  in- 
teguments, and  lessening  by  their  own  contractility,  the  hemor- 
ihage  is  stopped.  It  should  be  punctured  by  a  lancet;  a  fleam 
may  fix  itself  in  the  bone.  Its  division  can  be  readily  made,  also, 
either  by  a  lancet  or  scalpel. 

Bleeding  by  the  palate  is  also  a  species  of  arterio-phlebotomy, 
and  is  a  very  favorite  spot  for  abstracting  blood  with  most  igno- 
rant persons,  who  vehemently  recommend  it  in  spasmodic  colic  or 
gripes,  and  in  megrims.  In  such  cases,  however,  a  want  of  knowl- 
edge of  the  anatomy  of  the  parts  has  occasioned  a  serious  hemov 
rhage  to  occur ;  it  may  prove  a  fatal  one  if  the  artery  proper  to  the 
jrart  be  divided  incompletely.     The  palatine  artery  and  nerve  run 


SURGICAL.  OPERATION.  269 

near  each  other,  on  each  side  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  so  as  to 
divide  the  inner  surface  of  the  hard  palate  into  three  nearly  equal 
portions.  No  other  than  a  direct  division  of  the  vein  should  ever 
be  made;  therefore,  when  bleeding  is  determined  on  at  this  place, 
do  it  by  plunging  a  lancet  or  even  a  penknife  in  a  direct  line 
across  the  rugae,  one  inch  within  the  mouth,  exactly  between  the 
middle  and  second  nippers.  There  these  vessels  form  a  curve, 
which  curve  will  be  divided,  and  will  then  yield  three  or  four 
pints  of  blood.  If  the  instrument  enter  too  much  on  one  side,  aa 
about  the  middle  of  the  second  nipper,  then  a  partial  and  longi- 
tudinal division  of  the  artery  may  be  made,  and  an  alarming  hem- 
orrhage may  follow.  In  this  case,  the  section  must  be  enlarged 
and  deepened  inwardly — that  is,  away  from  the  teeth — which  com- 
pletely severs  the  vessel,  and  its  retraction  will  stop  the  hem- 
orrhage. A  moderate  or  slight  flow  of  blood  from  the  palate  may 
be  obtained  by  light  scarifications  of  the  rugae.  But  all  bleedings 
here,  except  under  circumstances  of  the  most  urgent  necessity,  had 
better  be  avoided. 

Bleeding  by  the  toe  is  also  arterio-phlebotomy.  By  no  means 
cut  out  a  portion  of  the  sole  at  the  point  of  the  frog,  which  fre- 
quently occasions  abscess;  but,  with  a  very  fine  drawing-knife, 
cut  down  exactly  in  the  line  of  union  between  the  crust  and  the 
sole ;  then,  by  puncturing  the  part  with  a  lancet,  a  vast  flow  of 
blood  may  be  obtained,  the  benefits  of  which,  in  some  cases,  are 
very  marked,  particularly  in  acute  founder.  If  the  blood  should 
not  flow  with  sufficient  freedom,  place  the  foot  in  warm  water. 
The  bleeding  finished,  cover  the  puncture  with  some  tow  and  a 
little  tar,  and  lightly  tack  on  the  shoe.  There  are,  however,  other 
methods  of  bleeding  from  the  toe.  Mr.  Maver  uses  a  drawing- 
knife  with  a  long  curve,  so  that  one  sweep  of  the  blade  may  cut  a 
piece  out  of  the  foot.  This  appears  to  us  bad  practice,  as  it  leaves 
Nature  a  space  to  fill  up,  instead  of  a  simple  incised  wound  to 
heal.  Others  take  away  none  of  the  horn,  but  merely  make  a  slit 
through  the  outer  covering  on  to  the  vascular  portion  of  the  foot. 
The  flap  of  horn  they  hold  up,  so  long  as  they  desire  blood,  by  the 
insertion  of  a  piece  of  wood ;  and  when  they  have  obtained  blood 
enough,  they  take  out  the  wood,  so  as  to  let  the  horny  flap  down. 
This  last  method,  of  all  others,  appears  to  us  the  easiest  and  the 
best. 

Sometimes  the  plantar  vein  is  opened  as  a  substitute.     Scarifi- 


270  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERI. 

cations  are,  also,  occasionally  practiced,  which,  of  course,  divide 
both  venous  and  arterial  branches.  In  France  extensive  scarifi- 
cations used  to  be  made  into  indurations  before  the  suppurativa 
process  had  commenced,  which,  in  some  cases,  prevented  that 
from  going  on,  and  the  remedial  wounds  made  were  healed  by 
adhesive  inflammation,  or  by  healthy  granulation.  The  same 
method  has  also  been  occasionally  practiced  here,  but  it  is  not 
now  often  attempted. 

Phlebotomy,  or  the  puncture  of  a  venous  branch,  is  the  most 
usual  mode  of  drawing  blood  in  veterinary  practice,  and  may  be 
employed  on  any  point  of  the  body ;  but  some  vessels  are  much 
more  frequently  opened  than  others,  and  most  of  all  the  jugular 
vein. 

Bleeding  by  the  thigh  vein. — The  saphena  is  a  prominent  vein 
continued  from  the  inner  part  of  the  hock,  and  may  be  opened  by 
the  fleam,  but  with  much  greater  safety  and  propriety  by  a  lancet. 
The  opposite  leg  being  held  up,  the  operator,  placing  himself  in 
front  of  the  thigh,  and  steadying  himself  and  the  horse  by  placing 
one  hand  on  the  hock,  may  fix  the  vein  with  the  little  finger  of  the 
other,  while  the  lancet,  held  between  the  thumb  and  fore-finger, 
punctures  it.  This  vein  should  never  be  opened  save  upon  abso- 
lute necessity,  as  it  is  often  troublesome  to  pin  up.  A  horse  has 
b?en  cast  for  the  trivial  matter  of  stopping  the  hemorrhage. 

Bleeding  from  the  plate  vein. — This  vein  is  frequently  opened  tc 
iA  stract  blood  after  injuries  of  the  fore  extremities. 

Tlie  superficial  brachial  vein  is  a  continuation  of  the  superficial 
\  nsion  of  the  metacarpal  veins,  and  in  the  passage  upward  receives 
more  than  one  branch.  Its  principal  trunk  ascends  along  the  inner 
side  of  the  radius.  It  may  also  be  well  to  remark  that,  when  taking 
blood  from  the  superficial  veins  of  the  arm  or  fore-arm,  if  any  diffi- 
culty is  experienced  in  obtaining  a  sufficient  flow,  the  lifting  up  of 
the  other  leg,  by  throwing  the  muscles  of  the  punctured  one  into 
action,  will  force  the  blood  from  the  inner  to  the  outer  set,  and  au 
increased  quantity  may  be  obtained.  The  plate  vein,  or  external 
thoracic,  is  often  opened,  as  it  emerges  from  behind  the  arm,  and 
is  pinned  up  without  any  difficulty. 

Bleeding  by  the  jugular  vein. — The  situation  of  this  important 
vessel  is  well  known,  but  its  internal  connections  are  not  so  fa- 
miliar, though  such  knowledge  is  essential  to  the  uniform  safety  of 
the  operation.     The  horse  has  only  external  jugular  veins,  a  righi 


SURGICAL  OPERATION  S.  271 

and  a  left  one.     As  each  emerges  from  th 3  chest,  it  is  found  deep- 
seated,  and  approaching  the  trachea.     It  then  passes  forward,  in 
company  with  the  external  carotid  artery.     Toward  the  middle 
~f  the  neck  it  becomes  more  superficial,  and  is  now  distinctly 
seen  progressing  rather  above  and  without  the  carotid  artery  and 
trachea,  or  windpipe.     The  carotid,  therefore,  in  the  future  course 
of  the  jugular,  is  situated  a  little  below  and  more  deep-seated  than 
(he  vein.     The  jugular  is  also  separated  from  the  carotid  by  a 
slight  muscular  band,  derived  from  the  levator  humeri.     Its  fur- 
ther track  is  marked  in  the  hollow  formed  by  the  inferior  edge  of 
the  levator  humeri,  where  it  is  covered  by  the  panniculus  carnosus 
and  integuments  only,  when,  having  nearly  reached  the  jaw,  it 
makes  its  well-known  division  into  two  portions.     Bleeding  by 
the  jugular  is  usually  practiced  with  a  lancet  or  with  a  fleam.    The 
proper  spot  for  the  puncture  may  be  found  anywhere  between  two 
inches  and  six  from  the  division  of  the  vein.    This  latitude  is  her*, 
mentioned,  because  it  is  prudent  to  avoid  puncturing  directly  over 
a  former  bleeding-place,  known  by  the  scar  and  enlargement.     It 
should  also  be  avoided  where  a  little  knot  in  the  course  of  the 
vein  will  sometimes  denote  the  existence  of  one  of  the  venous 
valves.     But  in  all  ordinary  cases,  where  these  hindrances  do  not 
appear,  operate  at  two  or  three  inches  from  the  division  of  the 
vein,  which  will  be  sufficiently  evident  when  it  is  pressed  on  below 
the  place  punctured.     Avoid  operating  low  down  in  the  neck,  as 
there  the  vessel  is  deeper-seated,  and  near  to  important  parts. 

First  moisten  the  hair  and  smooth  it  down ;  then,  steadying 
and  enlarging  the  vessel  with  one  hand,  with  the  other  plunge  the 
point  of  the  lancet  into  the  integuments,  so  as  just  to  puncture 
them  and  the  vein  ;  then,  by  a  slight  turn  of  the  wrist,  carry  the 
instrument  obliquely  forward  to  finish  the  cut.  For  opening  the 
smaller  veins,  the  lancet  should  always  be  used.  In  all  but  the 
practiced  hand  the  fleam  is  the  safest  for  bleeding  from  the  jugu- 
lar It  is  always  prudent  to  have  the  eye  of  the  horse  covered. 
Unless  the  eye  be  covered,  the  horse  will  be  likely  to  flinch  at  the 
moment  of  the  stroke,  and  the  puncture  may  be  made  in  any  place 
but  where  we  wish.  The  hair  being  first  wetted  and  smoothed, 
and  the  fleam  being  retained  in  the  left  hand,  the  unemployed 
fingers  pressing  on  the  vein  so  as  to  fix  and  swell  the  vessel,  let 
the  point  rest  exactly  in  the  middle  of  the  swelling.  Strike  the 
fleam  sufficiently  hard  to  penetrate  the  skin  and  vein.     A  blood- 


272  DADJ/S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  ANL>  SURGERY. 

stick  is  preferable  for  the  purpose  of  striking  the  fleam.  There  is 
a  vibration  between  two  hard  bodies  when  they  meet,  which,  in 
this  instance,  is  favorable  to  a  quick  and  moderate  puncture  of  the 
vein.  After  the  vein  has  been  opened,  mcderate  pressure  with  the 
edge  of  the  can  which  catches  the  blood  is  suflicient  to  keep  up 
the  flow.  It  may  also  be  encouraged  by  putting  a  finger  within 
the  horse's  mouth.  The  requisite  quantity  of  blood  being  drawn, 
remove  the  can.  The  remaining  process  of  securing  the  vessel 
is  of  equal  importance.  The  sides  of  the  orifice  are  first  to  be 
brought  in  opposition,  without  pinching  them,  and  without  draw- 
ing them  from  the  vein.  The  same  cautions  should  also  be  ob« 
served  when  the  pin  is  introduced.  Let  it  be  small,  with  an 
irregular  point,  and,  when  inserted,  wrap  around  it  a  few  hairs 
or  a  little  tow. 

Common,  however,  as  this  operation  is,  and  qualified  as  every 
one  thinks  himself  to  perform  it,  yet  there  are  very  serious  acci- 
dents which  do  arise  occasionally.  It  has  occuried  that  the  carotid 
artery  has  become  penetrated.  When  the  puncture  has  been  made 
through  the  vein,  the  accident  is  known  immediately  by  the  forci- 
ble and  pulsatory  gush  of  florid  arterial  and  dark  venous  blood 
together.  In  one  instance  of  this  kind,  which  occurred  to  a  French 
practitioner,  he  immediately  thrust  his  finger  into  the  opening 
through  the  vein,  and  thus  plugged  up  the  artery,  intending  to 
wait  for  assistance.  In  this  state  he  remained,  *ve  believe,  an 
hour  or  more,  when,  removing  his  finger,  to  his  surprise,  he  found 
the  hemorrhage  nad  ceased,  and  did  not  again  return.  In  another 
case,  where  an  English  practitioner  accidentally  opened  the  carotid, 
he  placed  a  compress  on  the  orifice,  and  had  relays  of  men  to  hold 
it  there  for  forty-eight  hours,  when  it  was  found  the  bleeding  had 
stopped. 

The  a.lmission  of  air  is  also  another  serious  accident  that  now 
and  then  attends  bleeding.  It  sometimes  happens  from  the  sudden 
removal  of  the  fingers  or  blood-can,  or  whatever  was  used  to  dis- 
tend the  vessel  by  obstructing  the  return  of  the  blood.  This,  being 
suddenly  taken  away,  allows  the  escape  of  the  blood  toward  the 
heart,  and  occasions  a  momentary  vacuum,  the  air  being  heard  to 
rush  with  a  gurgling  noise  into  the  vein  through  the  orifice;  it 
then  mixes  with  the  blood,  and  occasions,  in  some  instances,  almost 
immediate  death.  The  animal  begins  to  tremble ;  he  next  staggers, 
and  finally  falls  in  a  state  of  convulsion.     If  the  quantity  of  air 


SURGICAL  OPERATIONS. 


273 


taken  in  has  been  considerable,  death  ensues.  The  remedy  must, 
therefore,  be  instantaneous,  and  consists  in  again  opening  the  ori- 
fice, or  making  a  new  one,  to  gain  an  immediate  renewed  flow  of 
blood,  which  will,  in  most  cases,  renovate  the  horse,  who  has  been 
found  afterward  to  be  tormented  with  an  intolerable  itching."  * 

*  Blaine's  "Outlines." 


18 


SECTION  X. 

DISEASES    OF    THE    SKIN    AND    SUB-TISSUES. 

Itch  and  Mange — Lice  on  Animals — Grease  and  Scratches — Surfeit — Drop- 
sical Limbs  —  Scarletina  —  Ringworm  —  Prurigo  —  Pole-evil  —  Fistulous 
Withers — Warts  on  the  Skin — Purpura  Hemorrhagica — Out  of  condi- 
tion— Hide-bound— Herpes. 


Itch  and  Mange. 

ITCH,  mange,  and  scabies  are  essentially  local  affections  of  the 
skin,  and  are  occasioned  by  the  presence  of  parasites  known 
as  "  sarcoptes-equi."    The  eruption  ensuing  on  the  skin  of  a  horse, 

when  subject  to  this  affection,  is  very 
similar  to  the  appearance  of  itch  in  man, 
and  probably  is  just  as  tormenting  to 
the  animal  as  in  the  case  of  his  master. 
Numerous  cases  are  recorded  of  trans' 
mission  of  itch  from  horse  to  man,  and, 
when  so  acquired,  it  is  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  the  human  itch.  Some 
persons  suffer  severely  when  attending 
mangy  horses,  but  a  clean  person  or  clean 
horse  are  not  apt  to  take  the  disease.  It 
is  well  known  that  a  healthy  and  clean 
horse  may  stand  for  weeks  near  a  mangy- 
one  without  taking  the  disease,  showing, 
very  conclusively,  that  the  best  preventive  measures  are  those 
which  promote  health  and  cleanliness.  As  the  English  groom 
says,  "  plenty  of  elbow-grease,  by  means  of  brush  and  curry-comb. 
on  the  skin  of  the  horse ;  regular  daily  exercise,  pure  air  in  the 
stable,  and  a  sufficiency  of  good  digestible  food  are  sovereign 
remedies  against  itch  and  mange."  This,  we  presume,  is  all  the 
(274) 


Af'ARrS,  OR  SARCOPTES-EQFI,    THE 
ITCH  PARASITE  (MAGNIFIED). 


1.SEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  275 

■reader  wants  to  know  with  reference  to  the  cause  of  itch  and 
mange. 

Symptoms. — When  a  horse  is  affected  with  this  malady,  in  either 
of  the  forms  here  named,  the  owner's  attention  will  be  aroused 
by  the  animal  rubbing  himself,  whenever  he  can  get  a  fair  chance 
to  do  so;  and,  should  the  limbs  or  heels  be  affected,  he  will  rub 
the  fore-legs  one  against  the  other,  and,  at  night,  will  constantly 
strike  the  floor  with  his  hind  extremities.  The  hair  looks  un- 
thrifty, has  lost  its  gloss,  and  does  not  lay  smooth  on  the  body. 
It  falls  off  in  patches,  and  an  eruption  is  observed  similar  to  the 
appearance  of  itch  on  man,  yet  not  so  distinctly  recognized.  A 
few  pimples,  scabs,  and  a  slight  reddening  of  the  parts  is  all  that 
miy,  perhaps,  be  seen.  The  skin  of  some  horses,  however,  is 
more  vascular  and  more  delicately  organized  than  others.  In  the 
lal  ter  case  the  disease  is  more  marked,  creates  greater  irritation, 
an  I  the  nervous  system  suffers  more  from  sympathetic  irritability 
th:  n  in  the  case  of  an  animal  having  a  coarse  and  comparatively 
insensible  "hide."  In  addition  to  these  symptoms,  the  affected 
ani  nal  will  be  observed  to  be  more  or  less  fractious  and  unman- 
ageable. 

Treatment. — The  disease  being  of  a  local  character,  requires 
topical  (local)  remedies,  and  the  best  medicine  is  that  which  most 
quickly  destroys  the  life  of  the  itch  parasite.  It  has  been  found 
that  preparations  of  creosote  kill  the  parasite  in  a  few  seconds, 
and  Gerlaoh  recommends  the  following  preparation : 

No.  28.  Creosote 2\  oz. 

Spirits  of  wine 15     oz. 

Water 40     oz. 

Previous  to  the  application  of  this,  the  same  authority  advises 
that  the  horse  be  smeared  all  over  the  body  with  soft  soap,  wash- 
ing it  off  some  time  afterward  with  warm  water,  and  having  the 
animal  well  brushed ;  or  a  wash  may  be  afterward  used,  consist- 
ing of  one  part  of  caustic  potass  to  fifty  parts  of  water ;  or,  lastly, 
greasing  the  animal  with  linseed  oil,  train  oil,  etc.,  and,  one  or 
two  days  afterward,  washing  with  soap  and  water  or  potash  ley 
then  apply  the  preparation  of  creosote. 

The  cheapest,  and  probably  the  safest,  plan  of  treatment,  and 
that  which  has  proved  most  successful  in  the  practice  of  the  author, 
is  as  follows : 


276  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

No.  29.  Unslaked  lime 1   lb. 

Flour  of  sulphur 2  lbs. 

Water 12  pts. 

Put  these  ingredients  in  a  stone  jar,  set  it  on  the  stove,  or  in 
a  regular  water-bath,  until  it  boils.  During  the  interval,  the 
mixture  must  be  constantly  stirred,  both  in  view  of  insuring  a 
complete  mixture,  and  of  keeping  the  lime  and  sulphur  from  de- 
positing in  the  bottom  of  the  jar ;  for,  should  this  occur,  the  jar 
will  crack.  The  mixture  must  be  stirred  with  a  wooden  spatula 
or  glass  rod.  Keep  the  mixture  boiling  for  about  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes;  then  set  it  aside  for  twelve  hours,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  pour  off  the  clear  liquor,  bottle  tightly,  and  cork  the  bottles. 
These  should  be  put  away  in  a  dark  closet,  as  the  mixture  soon 
decomposes  when  exposed  to  the  sun's  rays.  Tnis  remedy  will 
cure  the  itch  on  horses  and  cattle.  It  is,  also,  a  sure  cure  when 
used  on  man.  It  is  not  adapted  to  the  cure  of  the  malady  in 
sheep,  as  the  sulphur  is  supposed  to  be  injurious  to  wool.  The 
only  objection  to  its  use  is,  that  it  has  a  very  unpleasant  odor — 
smells  like  sulphureted  hydrogen.  Before  applying  this  mixture, 
the  animal  should  be  thoroughly  washed  with  warm  water  and 
common  brown  soap;  then  wipe  the  animal  dry,  and  apply  the 
sulphur  mixture,  by  means  of  a  sponge.  One  application,  if 
properly  applied,  will  usually  suffice  to  kill  the  parasites.  Should 
it  fail  in  the  first  instance,  a  reapplication  will  do  no  harm,  as 
the  preparation  is  perfectly  inocuous. 

Scabies  is  to  be  treated  in  the  same  manner ;  in  fact,  all  diseases 
of  the  skin,  supposed  to  be  dependent  on  the  presence  of  parasites, 
are  to  be  treated  after  this  fashion.  Gerlach,  of  the  Royal  Ve- 
terinary School  of  Berlin,  has  made  a  series  of  experiments  with 
various  remedies  for  the  destruction  of  the  itch  parasite,  and  the 
following  table  shows  the  result  of  his  labors : 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES. 


277 


Agent. 


Creosote,  pure 

<  Ireosote,  1  part~» 

Spirit,   10  parts!- 

Water,  30  partsj 

Crsosote  1  part  ) 

Water,  80  partsj 

Cieosote  with  fat  { 1J4  "!""™".!"."*." 

Creosote  with  oil  1 1-4)J "' 

Iodine,  tincture  of,  pure 

Iodine,  tincture  of,  with  water,  1.4. 
Iodide  of  potassium  with  water,  1.2. 
Iodide  of  potassium  with  water,  1.4. 
Caustic  potash,  1  part ;  24  do. 
Caustic  potash,  1  part 
Water,  10  parts 

Tar,  2     " 

Hartshorn  oil,    2     " 
Caustic  potash,  1  part  "1 
Water,  16  parts  I 

Tar,  2     »      f  " 

Hartshorn  oil,  2     "     J 

Sulphuret  of  f  with  water  , 
potassium  "(with  oil,  1.10 

Chloride  of  lime  with  water,  1.30. 

Hartshorn  oil,  pure , 

Hartshorn  oil,  with  water,  1.10.... 

Oil  of  turpentine 

Barbadoes  tar 

Tar  (Pix  liquida) 

fpure 

Photogen  < 

(with  oil 

'1.10 

Concentrated  vinegar,  pure 

Concentrated  vinegar,  with  water  1.1 
Acetic  acid  with  water,  1.1 

Concentrated  sulphuric  acid  f  1.24 

with  water  \  1.48 


1.10. 


1.5. 


Decoction  of  tobacco 


U-3 


10. 
50. 


Tessier's  arsenical  bath. 


Mathieu's  arsenical  bath., 


Over-saturated  solution  of  arsenic  in 
water  1.0 


Green  soap., 


Li  juor  ammonia 

Solution  of  corrosive  sublimate,  10) 
grains,  one  ounce  j 

Infusions  of  henbane,  belladonna,  \ 
and  Persian  insect  powder,  1.16      J 

Decoction  of  black  and  white  helle- ) 
bore,  1.16  j 

Infusion  of  digatalis,  1.16 

Walz's  ley,  containing  caustic  pot- 
ash, hartshorn  oil,  and  tar 


Dead  in 

Hours.    Jliuutes, 


10-20 


2-5 
4-10 


2-3 


J£-l 


12-16 

6-36 
24-36 
6-48 


H~A 


2-2^ 

$A-o 

BA-7 
5)|-9 

1-2 

4-6 

9 

20-26 

2-2)4 


7-12 


1.5-30 


15-30 
3-4 
30 
5-9 
5-9 
8-13 


1-1% 

2-3}^ 

2 

7-8 
32-:i5 
10-20 


7-25 


15-16 


15-45 


Observations. 


Mathieo. 


f  Were  living  7  hours  after 
\     immersion. 


[Mathieu. 

J  White  arsenic,  1  part. 
j  Sulphate  of  iron,  10  parts. 
[  Water,  100  parts. 

I  Mathieu. 
White  arsenic,  1  part. 
Alum,  10  parts. 
Water,  100  parts. 
Hertwig. 


f  A  dilute   solution 
\     not  kill. 

Hertwig. 
Hertwig. 


does 


278  dadd's  veterinary  medicine  and  surgeri. 

The  Skin  Diseases  of  Domestic  Animals. 

A  celebrated  writer  on  the  diseases  of  the  skin  of  domesticated 
animals,  thus  discourses  on  the  subject : 

"  Few  topics  have  engaged  the  attention  of  the  successful  breedet 
of  our  improved  domesticated  animals  more  than  skin  diseases  pro- 
duced by  insects,  in  consequence  of  the  manner  in  which  both  the 
breeding  and  feeding  qualities  of  stock  are  affected  by  them.  This 
arises  from  the  little  progress  scientific  inquiry  has  experimentally 
made  in  the  physiology  of  these  tiny  parasites  by  means  of  the 
microscope,  and  the  consequent  paucity  of  reliable  scientific  works 
on  the  subject.  Hitherto  half  the  conclusions  of  our  veterinary 
surgeons  relative  to  their  natural  history  have  been  drawn  from  the 
traditionary  philosophy  of  our  forefathers,  and  not  from  actual  ex- 
amination, either  with  the  eye  of  the  modern  physiologist  or  mor- 
bid anatomist ;  while  our  entomologists  have  had  too  much  to  do 
to  overtake  the  branches  of  zoological  science,  to  fill  their  cabinets 
with  specimens  of  the  class  in  question — a  class  far  more  varied 
than  the  kingdom  itself,  every  different  race  of  animals  being  not 
only  infested  with  a  different  brood  of  insects  (mites),  but  almost 
every  organic  substance,  animal  and  vegetable. 

A  very  superficial  acquaintance  with  these  facts  must  convince 
the  reader  of  the  importance  of  the  lecture  on  this  subject,  de- 
livered by  Professor  Simonds,  before  the  council  of  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society  of  England,  accompanied  with  drawings, 
exhibited  on  the  wall,  and  specimens  under  his  microscope.  The 
former,  drawn  to  a  greatly  magnified  scale,  illustrated,  in  a  very 
conspicuous  manner,  the  different  stages  of  vitality,  from  the  ovum 
to  the  insect,  in  all  the  vigor  of  matured  life.  But  to  us,  and 
several  other  members  who  examined  them,  the  latter  appeared 
the  most  interesting,  as  nothing  can  exceed  the  fidelity  with  which 
the  microscope  exemplifies  Nature,  though  all  but  invisible  to  the 
naked  eye,  confirming,  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner,  the  sound- 
ness of  the  conclusions  at  which  the  Professor  arrived,  differing, 
as  they  did,  in  many  respects,  from  those  hitherto  drawn,  both  by 
veterinary  surgeons  and  entomologists. 

Referring  to  the  report  of  Mr.  Simonds'  first  lecture,  the  task 
which  devolves  upon  us  is  to  apply  it  to  the  daily  practice  of  the 
farmer,  so  as  to  profit  by  its  deductions.  These  were  principally 
confined,  it  will  be  seen,  to  scabies  and  setrus  in  sheep  and  other 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSCES.  279 

animals,  with  a  few  observations  on  the  dog-flea  (pulex  eanis). 
Scabies  is  a  pestiferous  disease,  whether  it  affects  the  horse,  the 
ox,  the  sheep,  swine,  or  poultry,  inflicting  a  loss  not  easily  esti- 
mated; hence  the  maxim  of  every  intelligent  farmer  is,  to  avcid. 
With  him  "prevention  is  better  than  cure,"  and,  therefore,  his 
grand  desideratum  is  to  guard  against  contagion.  Sheep  are,  per- 
haps, more  subject  to  it  than  any  of  the  other  animals,  arising  as 
much  from  the  mature  of  their  skins  and  coats  as  from  the  fecun- 
dity of  the  acarus  ovis,  and  the  greater  vicissitudes  of  the  weather 
to  which  they  (the  sheep)  are  exposed.  Certain  parts  of  the  body 
aie  more. liable  to  be  affected  than  others;  and  so  is  an  unhealthy 
skin  than  a  healthy  one.  Indeed,  it  has  been  said  that  an  unheal- 
thy skin  will  itself  produce  scabies  (?),  but  this  conclusion  does 
not  appear  to  be  well  founded  ;  for  a  disease  dependent  upon  the 
presence  of  living  parasites  can  never  arise  spontaneously,  but 
must  be  effected  by  contagion,  either  by  means  of  their  eggs,  or 
the  insect  in  some  other  stage  of  its  existence. 

Now,  from  what  has  just  been  said,  it  will  appear  obvious  that 
cleanliness,  a  healthy  skin  and  state  of  the  body,  and  a  separation 
from  foul  animals  and  ground,  are  the  means  necessary  to  avoid 
contagion.     The  truth  of  this  will,  perhaps,  be  better  understood 
if  we  first  review  the  important  distinctions  which  Mr.  Simonds 
makes  between  the  habits  of  the  acarus  scabiei  of  the  human  body 
and  the  acari  of  our  domestic  animals,  the  former  burrowing  in 
the  skin,  but  the  latter  living  on  its  surface,  clinging  to  the  skin, 
hair,  or  wool  with  their  trumpet-shaped,  vesicular-cushioned  feet, 
to  prevent  their  being  thrown  off  by  the  animal  when  shaking  or 
ni'bbling  itself.    Hitherto  distinctions  of  this  kind  have  been  over- 
looked, writers  generally  concluding  that  the  acari  of  quadruped's 
burrowed  in  the  skin  like  those  of  man,  thus  proving  the  little 
use  which  had  been  made  of  the  microscope  in  examining  the 
former,  as  it  shows  them  to  be  incapable  of  living  in  the  skin, 
from  the  configuration  of  their  bodies.     Indeed,  to  have  made 
similar  acari  for  naked  skins  as  for  those  covered  with  hair,  wool, 
or  feathers  would  have  been  an  oversight  on  the  part  of  Nature ; 
while  the  fact  that  the  acarus  scabiei  will  not  live  on  the  horse, 
nor  acarus  equi  on  man,  or  acarus  ovis  on  the  ox,  or  acarus  bovis 
on  the  sheep,  and  so  on,  proves  that  greater  differences  than  the 
mere  configuration  of  the  animal  structure  exist,  all  pointing  to 
the  above  means  as  necessary,  in  every  case,  to  avoid  so  great  » 


280  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

p0St — one  which  appears  to  form  an  integral  part  of  that  ?urse 
inflicted  on  the  whole  creation  by  the  fall  of  man. 

The  importance  of  cleanliness,  and  its  concomitant  health,  "o 
prevent  contagion,  may  be  further  illustrated.  We  have  just  seen 
above  that  an  acarus,  although  a  loathsome  pest,  is  yet  very  nice 
in  its  taste,  and  particular  about  a  nidus  in  which  to  deposit  and 
hatch  its  eggs.  It  enjoys  the  highest  degree  of  prosperity  on  the 
unhealthy  skin,  multiplying  there  fastest;  Su  that  if  it  creeps 
from  it  to  the  opposite — the  sleek,  healthy  one  of  the  horse  or  ox, 
or  dry  wool  of  the  sheep — it  feels  itself  from  home,  and,  before  it 
even  reaches  the  skin,  may  be  bruised  or  shaken  off.  If,  however, 
it  creeps  upon  the  unhealthy  animal  with  its  staring  coat,  it  soon 
reaches  the  skin,  and  commences  its  direful  work,  every  thing 
there  being  congenial  to  his  happiness;  hence  the  incredible 
speed  at  which  it  propagates  its  species,  until  it  either  consumes 
its  victim  alive,  or  is  arrested  at  its  fatal  work  by  the  timely 
unguent  of  the  veterinary  surgeon. 

Again :  when  a  dirty  animal  shakes  itself,  as  it  invaria jly  does 
after  rubbing  itself  against  any  thing,  less  or  more  suirf,  dan- 
druff, and  dust  is  thrown  into  the  atmosphere,  and  carried  to  a 
distance  by  high  wind.  Now,  under  such  circunwances,  whca 
affected  with  scabies,  it  is  manifest  that  the  smallest  of  these  puny 
insects,  as  well  as  their  eggs,  will  be  blown  from  one  pasture  tc 
another ;  that  the  latter  will  lodge  in  the  dirty  staring  coat  of 
the  unhealthy  animal,  when  they  will  be  blown  off  that  of  the 
clean  sleek  one,  or  be  brushed  off  before  they  reach  the  skin,  or 
any  nidus  capable  of  hatching  them.  In  this  manner  we  can 
trace  contagion  from  one  animal  to  another,  and  thus  account,  in 
harmony  with  entomological  science,  for  what  has  hitherto  been 
termed  spontaneous  cases  of  scabies"  in  some  of  our  domesticated 
animals,  while  others  have  escaped  the  disease,  though  all  herd- 
ing together  in  one  field.  We  can  also  account  for  the  fact  why 
the  disease  is  more  liable  to  break  out  among  sheep  than  horses 
and  cattle,  without  coming  in  contact  with  strange  flocks,  because 
the  coats  of  the  latter  are  more  likely  to  be  impregnated  with 
eggs  than  those  of  the  former,  while  they  afford  a  better  nidus  for 
hatching  them. 

With  -egard  to  health,  it  has  even  been  said  that  the  blood  of 
scabbed  animals  is  diseased :  nav.  that  the  blood  of  all  animals  is 
loaded,  more  or  less   with  the  eggs  of  acari,  and  that  they  are 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  281 

hatched  under  certain  cutaneous  affections,  thus  accounting  for 
spontaneous  cases  differently  from  the  atmospheric  distribution  of 
eggs.  Hence  the  reason  why  sulphur  and  mercury  are  taken, 
internally  as  well  as  externally,  to  get  rid  of  the  disease.  But 
this  sanguiferous  doctrine  of  distribution  is  more  difficult  to  re- 
concilc  with  entomological  science  than  the  atmospheric  one. 

Contagion  by  direct  contact  of  clean  animals  with  diseased,  or 
where  the  former  enter  foul  ground,  will  be  difficult  to  avoid  so 
long  as  the  commerce  of  live  farm  stock  is  conducted  as  at  present ; 
for  diseased  animals  will  be  sent  to  market,  although  contrary  to 
the  spirit  of  the  law,  thus  not  only  communicating  the  disease  to 
all  they  come  in  contact  with,  but  also  infecting  the  market-place. 
According  to  the  experiments  made  by  Mr.  Simonds,  acari  left 
upon  a  post,  hurdle,  or  hedge  by  a  scabbed  beast  will  survive 
for  fourteen  days,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  lay  hold  of  any 
animal  coming  in  contact  with  it,  and  thus  communicate  the  dis- 
ease ;  consequently  our  weekly  and  fortnightly  markets  are  little 
better,  during  the  warm  months  of  summer,  than  nests  for  pro- 
pagatiug  malignant  parasites.  It  would  be  well,  then,  if  very 
stringent  statutes  were  enacted,  confiscating  all  diseased  animals 
offered  for  sale,  and  that  microscopical  examinations  were  enforced 
in  all  suspicious  cases,  so  as  to  guarantee  its  healthy  operation. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  means  for  preventing  contagion  may 
be  summed  up  in  two  words — improved  management. 

At  a  very  early  period  in  our  history,  acarus  scabiei  was  much 
more  common  among  our  forefathers  than  among  their  posterity 
of  the  present  day.  The  change  which  has  taken  place  is  obvi- 
ously attributable  to  progress  in  dietetics,  clothing,  and  medicine ; 
and  among  our  domesticated  animals  it  is  no  more  than  reasona- 
ble to  conclude  that  similar  causes  will  produce  similar  effects. 
In  point  of  fact,  improved  management  has  already  greatly  re- 
duced the  prevalence  of  scabies  among  both  our  herds  and  flocks, 
thus  holding  out  every  encouragement  to  persevere  in  obtaining 
further  progress.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  branch  of  husbandry 
where  greater  advances  can  be  made  than  in  cattle-cookery,  house- 
hold accommodation,  including  grooming,  etc.,  and  medicine ;  and 
when  we  contemplate  how  much  cutaneous  diseases  are  dependent 
on  management  in  each  of  these  three  respects,  it  were  difficult  to 
estimate  what  influence  further  improvements  in  them  may  tave 
*m  the  disease  in  question."' 


282  dadd  s  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

Lice  on  Horses. 

Lice,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  may  be  attributed  to  want  of  clean- 
liness; for  they  are  rarely  if  ever  seen  on  the  body  of  an  animal 
with  clean  skin.  Brush  and  curry-comb,  and  clean  stables,  are, 
therefore,  the  preventives. 

A  short  time  ago  I  had  occasion  to  visit  a  stable,  located  in 
Waukegan,  111.  There  I  saw  a  horse  almost  perfectly  hairless,  ex- 
cept the  mane  and  tail.  I  asked  the  owner  what  occasioned  the 
depilation  of  the  hair.  He  informed  me  that  the  horse's  body  was 
completely  infested  with  lice;  that  he  had  tried  all  sorts  of  rem- 
edies without  success,  and,  at  last,  thought  he  would  try  kerosene 
oil,  and,  accordingly,  rubbed  the  body  all  over  with  it,  using  about 
two  quarts.  He  said  "  it  killed  all  the  lice,  but  came  very  near 
killing  the  horse.  It  made  him  perfectly  crazy ;  his  limbs  became 
swollen  to  the  proportions  of  a  young  elephant,  and  the  hair  all 
fell  off." 

The  remedy  I  have  found  most  efficacious  is  composed  of 

No.  30.  Crude  cod-liver  oil 1  pint. 

Pulverized  lobelia 2  oz. 

Mix. 

This  should  be  thoroughly  rubbed  all  over  the  body  by  means 
of  a  stiff  brush;  at  the  expiration  of  four  hours,  carefully  wash 
the  horse  all  over  with  soft  soap  and  warm  water.  It  may  be 
necessary  to  make  a  second  and  even  a  third  application,  on  suc- 
cessive days,  ere  the  parasites  are  all  killed.  The  parasites  can  be 
seen  with  the  naked  eye ;  therefore  the  owner  of  the  horse  rau&t 
be  the  judge  as  regards  the  number  of  applications  needed. 

At  a  meeting  of  a  Farmer's  Club,  "Lice"  formed  the  subje<:t 
for  discussion.  Dr.  J.  R.  Smith  explained  that  lice,  as  well  as 
all  similar  insects,  breathe  through  holes  in  the  body.  These 
holes  are  minute  spirules,  constantly  kept  open  by  an  elastic  ringf 
and  surrounded  by  a  fringe  of  extremely  delicate  hair,  which  pre- 
vents the  intrusion  of  any  solid  particles.  To  kill  the  insect  it 
is  only  necessary  to  close  these  breathing-holes,  and  this  is  done 
by  smearing  them  with  any  kind  of  grease  or  oil.  You  may 
catch  a  cat  erpillar  and  examine  him  with  a  magnifying  glass,  and 
you  will  find  these  spirules  arranged  in  two  rows,  one  on  each 
side;  (hen,  if  you  take  a  moth  or   butterfly,  you  will   find   the 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  283 

breathing-holes  in  the  body  corresponding  with  those  in  the  body 
of  the  caterpillar  from  which  it  was  produced — the  same  body,  in 
fact,  remaining  after  the  wings  are  developed.  If  you  dip  a  feather 
in  oil,  and  smear  the  two  spirules  nearest  the  tail,  the  lower  por- 
tion of  the  body  will  be  paralyzed  so  far  as  these  holes.  Proceed- 
ing upward,  you  may  paralyze  the  whole  body  until  you  come  to 
the  last  two,  which  are  situated  just  below  the  jaws.  So  long  as 
these  remain  open,  the  insect  will  continue  to  breathe,  but  if  these 
are  now  closed,  he  dies  immediately.  To  exterminate  lice  upon 
any  animal,  it  is  only  necessary  to  cover  the  animal  completely 
with  grease  or  oil.  The  simplest  and  cheapest  oil  is  best — lard, 
fish  oil,  or  any  other  that  is  at  hand.  When  the  lice  have  not 
become  so  numerous  as  to  produce  the  disease  known  as  pityriasis, 
or  rcunge,  this  application,  undoubtedly,  is  the  best  that  can  be 
used.  In  addition  to  being  effective,  it  is  perfectly  harmless. 
Stock  breeders  should  always  recollect  that  prevention  shows  wis- 
dom, «  nd  saves  annoyance  and  expense ;  and,  by  neatness,  cleanli- 
ness and  comfort,  the  health  of  the  animal  will  be  insured,  and  the 
animals  will  not  become  infested  with  the  troublesome  parasites. 
Poultry  lice  affecting  horses. — Horses,  when  located  near  a  hen- 
roost, are  apt  to  be  infested  with  poultry  lice.  The  remedy  is  the 
same  as  in  the  case  of  the  common  louse. 

Diseases  of  the  Heels  (Grease,  Scratches,  "  Wateb 
Farcy,"  "Weed  Shot,"  "Milk  Leg"). 

In  olden  times  grease,  or  scratches,  and  cracked  heels,  were  not 
only  very  prevalent  but  very  formidable  affections.  Before 
veterinary  surgeons  were  employed  in  the  British  Army,  many 
thousands  of  valuable  horses  were  condemned  as  useless  for  active 
service  in  consequence  of  the  prevalence  of  that  loathsome  affec- 
tion known  as  inveterate  grease ;  but  now,  in  consequence  of  the 
presence  of  veterinary  surgeons,  and  the  consequent  improved 
system  of  management  in  camp  and  stable,  grease  is  almost  un- 
known. Most  veterinary  writers  contend  that  grease  almost 
always  arises  from  improper  management  of  the  horse,  yet  I  have 
seen  it  occur  in  horses  that  were  well  cared  for  and  properly 
treated.  The  truth  is,  some  horses  are  predisposed  to  affections 
of  the  skin  of  the  heels  and  the  sebaceous  glands  of  the  same ; 
and,  altnough  cleanliness  and  good  management  may  stave  off  an 
attack  for  a  long  while,  yet  when  the  system  abounds  in  morbifio 


284  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

matter,  the  same  is  very  apt  to  gravitate  toward  the  heels,  (they 
being  most  remote  from  the  center  of  circulation,)  inducing  in- 
flammation of  the  skin  of  the  heels,  distension  of  the  sebaceous 
glands,  and  a  stinking  and  unhealthy  deposit  on  the  surface,  and 
a  purulent  discharge  through  ulcerated  cracks.  This  constitutes 
grease. 

Cause. — It  is  contended  by  Mr.  Blain  and  others  that  grease 
has  local  weakness  for  a  cause.  As  fluids  press,  not  in  proportion 
to  their  diameter,  but  to  the  height  of  their  column,  the  venous 
blood  must  find  some  difficulty  to  its  ascent.  Debility  is,  there- 
fore, more  felt  in  the  distended  vessels  remote  from  the  influence 
of  the  heart,  under  which  circumstance  the  effects  productive  of 
grease  necessarily  ensue.  Some  horses  are  constantly  the  sub- 
jects of  swelled  legs,  and,  if  the  heels  happen  to  be  accidentally 
abraded,  the  latter  often  operates  as  the  exciting  cause  of  a  very 
formidable  affection  of  the  heels.  Associated  with  swelled  legs  is 
a  scurfiness  of  the  skin  beneath  the  fetlock.  These  conditions, 
together  with  the  fact  that  the  animal  is  of  the  lymphatic  temper- 
ament (gray  color),  are  sure  indications  that  predisposition  to 
maladies  of  the  above  character  are  present.  Having  such  horses 
under  our  care,  the  chief  object  should  be  to  ward  off  an  attack,  by 
dietetic  and  hygienic  measures.  Too  much  washing  of  the  heels, 
without  drying  them  by  rubbing,  is  just  about  as  bad  as  if  the 
filth  was  allowed  to  remain.  The  practice  chills  the  part  by  a  pro- 
cess of  slow  evaporation,  and  the  result  is  local  congestion,  etc. 

I  now  propose  to  illustrate^  for  the  benefit  of  the  reader, 
the  treatment  of  grease  or  scratches.  I  was  requested  to  see 
a  gray  gelding,  the  property  of  the  Transfer  Company  of  St. 
Louis.  On  arrival,  I  examined  the  animal,  and  found  him  to  be 
a  large,  flabbily-organized  creature,  having  a  large  amount  of 
loose  tissue  under  the  skin.  I  found  that  there  was  a  bad  odor 
arising  from  some  ulcerations  and  exudations  about  the  heels  and 
sides  of  the  same.  Intermediate  of  the  ulcers  were  dry,  horny 
scabs ;  the  hair  about  the  parts  pointed  straight  out ;  the  heel  was 
excessively  tender,  quite  vascular,  and  blood  escaped  from  its 
vessels.  The  moment  a  hand  was  placed  upon  the  locality,  the 
animal  would  catch  up  the  limb  and  appear  to  suffer  much  pain. 

Treatment. — In  the  first  place,  I  had  the  parts  well  cleansed 
with  soap  and  water;  then,  after  wiping  them  dry,  they  were  wet" 
ted.  three  times  daily,  with  a  portion  of  the  fol'owing  solution : 


WIS  EASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES  286 

No.  31.  Nitrate  of  potass  (saltpeter) 2  oz„ 

Water 1  pt. 

Glycerine 4  oz. 

Every  time  the  solution  was  applied,  the  parts  were  dusted  with 
pulverized  charcoal.  This  charcoal,  completely  covering  the 
abraded  parts,  and  being  a  good  antiseptic,  had  an  excellent  effect 
in  excluding  atmospheric  air,  and  in  correcting  feted  odor.  I 
administered,  as  an  alterative,  to  correct  the  morbid  habit, 

No,  32.  Iodide  of  potass 20  gr. 

Sulphur 4  dr. 

Powdered  sassafras  bark 2  dr. 

Gentian « 1   dr. 

These  were  mixed  in  food,  and  the  same  quantity  was  given 
during  a  period  of  four  days,  and  the  dressings  were  also  contin- 
ued. On  the  fifth  day  the  animal  had  very  much  improved,  stood 
fair  on  the  foot,  and  seemed  to  suffer  but  very  little  pain.  The 
limb  was  somewhat  swollen,  partly  from  want  of  use,  and  other- 
wise from  slight  effusion  into  the  cellular  tissue.  I  discontinued 
the  medicine,  and  ordered  the  following  mixture,  to  be  applied 
twice  daily: 

No' 33'  coIi01ofr°.u.s  .a.c.id: :::  ;.*;:::.': : : : } e^1  parts- 

After  each  application  the  oharcoal  was  reapplied. 

The  following  case  serves  to  illustrate  that  the  virus  of  grease 
can  be  transmitted  from  horse  to  man : 

Transmission  of  the  Virus  of  Grease  from  the  Horse  to  Man. — 
Drs.  Maunoury  and  Pichot  have  published  an  interesting  series 
of  experiments,  tending  to  prove  the  identity  of  grease  and  cow- 
pox.  This  doctrine,  which  was  always  maintained  by  Jenner, 
has  received  confirmation  from  the  observations  of  Lo^ ,  Godine, 
and  others.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  facts,  related  by 
Drs.  Maunoury  and  Pichot  : 

"  Francis  Barthelemy  B ,  aged  twenty-eight,  of  lymphatio 

temperament,  a  farrier,  presented  himself  to  Dr.  Pichot  on  tb** 
5th  of  March,  1856.  He  had  not  been  vaccinated.  On  the  backs 
of  his  hands,  which  were  red  and  swollen,  were  several  confluent 
opaline  pustules,  depressed  in  their  center,  and  having  all  the 
appearance  of  vaccine  pustules  of  the  eight  or  ninth  day.  The 
inflammation  with  which  the  pustules  were  surrounded  had  ap- 


280  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

peared  on  the  second;  the  pustules  themselves  preceded  the  in- 
flammation some  days.  This  man  had  not  been  in  contact  with 
any  cow,  but  on  the  11th  of  February  he  had  shod  a  horse  suffer- 
ing from  grease.  There  existed,  at  the  time,  numerous  crack1, 
about  the  hands.  The  disease  from  which  the  horse  was  suffering 
was  certified  by  a  -qualified  veterinarian.  Various  inoculations 
were  practiced  with  the  liquid  taken  from  the  pustules  presented 

ly  B ,  with  the  effect  of  reproducing  the  same  disease.     The 

most  perfect  set  of  experiments  were  made  hv  M.  Maunoury,  who 
transmitted  the  virus  through  four  sets  of  cases.  The  following 
are  the  results  of  his  observations : 

1.  That  virus  obtained  from  the  hands  of  the  farrier  B , 

and  inoculated  on  the  arm  of  an  infant,  produced  a  full  pustule, 
having  all  the  character  of  °  vaccine  pustule — form,  evolution, 
termination. 

2.  That  lymph  taken  from  this  pustule,  and  inoculated  on  the 
arm  of  three  persons,  had  produced  identical  pustules,  which  are 
truly  vaccine. 

3.  That  the  transmission  of  the  virus  by  successive  generations 
has  not  diminished  the  intensity  of  the  force  of  the  poison.  One 
of  the  set  of  cases  presented  large  pustules,  depressed  in  the  centei , 
and  filled  with  matter;  each  pustule  served  for  several  inocu- 
lations and  the  charging  of  several  sets  of  glasses. 

4.  That  from  these  facts  it  is  evident  that  the  virus  taken  from 
the  pustules  of  the  farrier  was  identical  with  the  vaccine."  * 

Surfeit. 

The  term  surfeit  is  used  to  designate  an  eruptive  affection  of 
the  skin,  which  usually  makes  its  appearance  very  suddenly. 
There  is  nothing  dangerous  about  it,  and  it  sometimes  disappears, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  hours,  without  any  medical  treatment.  It 
usually  appears  in  warm  weather,  and  especially  among  hcrses 
that  are  in  a  state  of  j)lethora,  from  the  use  of  a  large  quantity 
of  meal,  or  what  is  known  as  cut  feed. 

Symptoms. — A  horse  may  be  taken  out  of  the  stable  apparently 
in  perfect  health,  except  that  he  is  fat,  and,  after  being  driven  a 

•Oenerales  de  Medecine,  April,  1857   pp.  365  398,  frrm  the  British  and  For- 
eign Medical  Chiurgical  Review. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  287 

•hort  distance,  he  is  brought  back  with  his  neck  and  sides  covered 
with  blotches  or  elevations.  On  pressing  them  with  the  fingers 
they  crepitate,  showing  that  they  are  gaseous  elevations  or  disten- 
sions, originating  in  the  cellular  tissue  beneath  the  skin,  from  the 
spontaneous  generation  of  gas.  The  gas  probably  arises  from  fer- 
menlation  of  the  food,  and  instead  of  accumulating  in  the  intes- 
tines, finds  its  way  to  the  surface  of  the  body. 

Treatment — Dissolve  two  ounces  of  hyposulphite  of  soda  in  one 
pint  of  warm  water,  and  drench  the  animal  with  the  same.  Then 
sponge  the  body  witn  a  portion  of  the  following  surfeit  lotion : 

No.  34.  Aqua  ammonia 2  oz. 

Animal  glycerine 1  oz. 

Water 1  quart. 

If  taken  in  time,  the  affection  will  disappear  in  a  few  hours.  The 
patient  should  be  kept  on  bran-mashes,  well  salted,  for  a  few  days ; 
or  a  couple  of  weeks'  run  at  grass,  if  the  season  permits,  will  be 
of  great  service. 

Dropsical  Limbs  (Swelled  Legs,  "  Stocking  "). 

It  is  a  very  serious  annoyance  to  the  owner  of  a  valuable  horse 
to  find  that,  after  the  animal  has  been  standing  in  the  stable  for 
only  a  period  of  twelve  hours,  his  hind  limbs  have  wonderfully 
increased  in  size ;  and  equally  mortifying  is  it  to  see  some  animals 
with  their  limbs  continually  tumefied,  and  without  any  other  ap- 
parent sign  of  disease. 

Dropsy  of  the  limbs  generally  proceeds  from  congestion.  The 
serum,  or  more  fluid  part  of  the  blood,  transudes  through  the  walls 
of  the  blood-vessels,  and  accumulates  in  the  cellular  tissue,  under 
the  skin.  But  dropsy  takes  place  not  only  in  consequence  of 
venous  congestion,  but  accompanies  very  many  forms  of  disease, 
such  as  scarletina,  influenza,  farcy ;  and  the  cure  of  such  diseases 
also  accomplishes  the  cure  of  dropsy. 

Causes. — The  cause  of  that  form  of  dropsical  limbs  which 
seems  to  occur  without  any  other  visible  disease  is  now  the  sub- 
ject for  consideration.  When  a  horse's  limbs  swell  persistently, 
after  a  few  hours'  rest,  and  disappears  under  exercise,  we  may 
infer  that  there  exists  a  dropsical  diathesis  in  his  system;  that,  by 
virtue  of  his  constitution,  he  is  predisposed;  and  such  cases  are 
designated  as  chronic  local  dropsy. 


28S  DAbDS  VETERINARY  MLD1UINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Treatment. — The  remedies  are  hand-rubbing,  exercise,  and  stim- 
ulating liniment.  The  best  liniment  fcr  'ocal  dropsy  of  this  char- 
acter is  as  follows : 

No.  35.  Fluid  extract  of  wormwc  :d 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  ginger. . .      3  oz. 

Spirits  of  camphor 1  pint. 

Rub  the  region  of  tumefaction  with  a  portion  of  this  linimenl 
every  night. 

When  swelling  of  the  limbs  do  not  assume  a  periodical  char- 
acter, and  suspicion  of  predisposition  can  not  be  entertained,  then, 
in  addition  to  the  application  of  the  liniment,  give  the  animal, 
morning  and  evening,  one  ounce  of  the  fluid  extract  of  buchu. 


Scarlatina  (Scarlet  Fever). 

Scarlet  fever,  or  scarletina,  as  it  occurs  among  horses  in  th« 
United  States,  is  a  febrile  disease  of  a  very  prostrating  character : 
yet  it  is  not  considered  by  the  author  a  contagious  malady.  Ii 
has  only  lately,  however,  been  recognized  in  this  country  as  a  dis- 
tinct equine  disease,  and,  being  of  rather  rare  occurrence,  we  know 
but  little  about  it.  The  cases  that  have  come  under  the  author's 
treatment  were  unattended  by  ulceration  of  the  throat,  and  this 
may  account  for  the  non-contagion;  for,  in  the  human  subject, 
when  ulceration  of  the  throat  takes  place,  the  case  becomes  ma- 
lignant. 

Watson  says :  "  The  malignant  sort;  throat  may  be  caught 
from  a  patient  who  has  mild  scarlet  fever ;  and  mild  scarlet  fever 
may,  in  like  manner,  be  contracted  from  one  who  is  suffering 
under  the  malignant  sore  throat.  The  two  forms  graduate  insen- 
sibly, in  different  cases,  toward  each  other ;  and  it  would  be  im- 
possible, even  if  it  were  desirable,  to  draw  any  strict  line  of 
separation  between  them.  Many  would  say,  and  probably  with 
truth,  that  the  difference  was  this :  in  the  one  form,  tL  3  poison  of 
the  disorder  is  seeking  its  vent,  principally,  by  the  throat;  in  the 
other,  by  the  skin."  It  appears,  therefore,  that  in  the  human 
subject  the  disease  is  capable  of  being  communicated  at  any  stage. 

The  cases  that  have  come  under  the  author's  notice  since  he  first 
recognized  the  malady  have  all  been  of  a  mild  form ;  that  is  to 
say,  non-malignant.  The  limbs,  sheath,  and  pectoral  regions  were 
excessively  dropsical ;  the  skin  was  the  seat  cf  rash  or  minute  <J<  < 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  28t 

nations,  and  scarlet  spots  or  patches  were  always  present  on  the 
visible  surfaces  of  the  mouth  and  nostrils ;  yet  the  patients  always 
drank  and  ate  mashes  freely,  which  they  could  not  have  done  so 
readily  had  their  throats  been  sore  and  ulcerated. 

The  author  would  intimate,  however,  that,  should  the  disease 
ever  become  malignant  in  the  horse,  it  may  also  become,  as  in  the 
human  subject,  contagious  and  infectious.  Perhaps  the  reason 
why  it  has  not  attained  a  malignant  type  in  this  country  is,  be- 
cause it  is  of  recent  origin ;  whereas,  among  the  members  of  the 
human  family,  scarlatina  has  been  known  to  exist  for  several 
hundred  years,  and  may  have  acquired  intensity  and  malignancy 
with  age.  In  anticipation  of  such  an  event,  the  author  recom- 
mends that  scarlet-fever  patients  be  separated  from  other  inmates 
of  the  stable. 

The  following  case  is  from  the  author's  note-book,  and  may 
serve  to  instruct  the  reader  on  the  theory  and  practice  of  the 
malady :  A  short  time  ago,  a  bay  gelding,  aged  about  nine  years, 
was  admitted  into  the  Chicago  Infirmary.  On  examination,  the 
following  symptoms  were  observed: 

Symptoms. — The  hair  about  the  neck  and  fore  and  hind  limbs 
was  elevated  in  blotches,  with  corresponding  elevations  on  the 
skin  beneath ;  the  membranes  within  the  cavities  of  the  nostrils 
had  scarlet  spots,  variable  in  size ;  all  the  limbs  were  more  or  less 
swollen ;  the  breath  was  hot  and  fetid ;  the  animal  was  unsteady 
in  his  gait,  apparently  very  weak;  had  great  thirst,  yet  little  ap- 
petite. The  elevations  on  the  surface  of  the  body,  and  the  scarlet 
spots  on  the  nasal  membrane,  constituted  the  diagnostic  symptoms 
of  scarlet  fever. 

Treatment. — During  the  first  three  days,  I  drenched  the  animal 
with  three  ounces  of  liquor  acetate  of  ammonia,  in  an  equal  quan- 
tity of  cold  water.  The  elevations  on  the  surface  of  the  body 
were  sponged  once  a  day  with  a  lotion  composed  of  two  ounsea 
of  aqua  ammonia  and  one  quart  of  rain-water.  A  sloppy  bran- 
mash  was  occasionally  furnished,  of  which  the  patient  partook 
freely.  This  tended  to  keep  the  bowels  loose,  and  moderate  the 
febrile  symptoms.  On  the  fourth  day  all  the  limbs  became  very 
much  swollen,  from  dropsical  effusions,  which  feature  of  the  case 
is  very  apt  to  present  itself.  I  now  changed  the  treatment — 
omitted  the  lotion  bathing,  and  gave,  night  and  morning,  two- 
ounce  doses  of  compound  fluid  extract  of  buchu  and  juniper  ber- 
19 


2UC  DADD'S   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

ries.  A  slight  discharge  of  glairy  mucus  now  commenced  running 
from  both  nostrils ;  the  scarlet  spots  had  become  more  diffused,  and 
of  a  brighter  tint ;  the  appetite  had  returned,  and  a  few  oats  and 
a  small  quantity  of  hay  were  occasionally  allowed,  which  were 
eaten.  The  limbs  wtre  hand-rubbed  often,  and  the  body  was 
clothed  with  warm  blankets.  This  treatment  was  followed  up  for 
a  period  of  five  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  had  improved 
very  much,  yet  the  limbs  were  considerably  swollen. 

On  the  tenth  day  I  commenced  to  give  four  ounces  of  fluid  ex- 
tract of  resin-weed  per  day,  with  an  occasional  dose  of  fluid  extract 
of  golden  seal,  under  which  treatment  he  convalesced  very  rapidly, 
so  that  on  the  sixteenth  day  all  medicine  was  discontinued.  I  now 
turned  the  animal  into  a  small  inclosure,  where  he  seemed  to  take 
pleasure  in  rolling  and  exercising  himself,  which  had  the  effect 
of  reducing  the  dropsical  swelling  of  the  limbs,  and  on  the  fourth 
of  December  the  patient  was  sent  home — not  exactly  to  go  to  work, 
but  to  receive  care  and  attention  until  he  had  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  the  disease,  and  had  gained  his  ordinary  strength. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  say  to  what  extent  scarlet  fever  among 
horses  prevails  in  the  United  States ;  for  very  little,  if  any  thing, 
has  ever  appeared  in  print  of  American  origin,  except  that  which 
has  appeared  from  the  pen  of  the  author  of  this  work.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  water,  however,  the  disease  is  of  frequent  oc- 
currence, and  is  well  understood.  The  first  account  of  it  published 
in  England  was  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Percivakl,  in  the  year  1843, 
who  says  that  "  the  existence  of  scarlet  fever  has  received  such 
confirmation  from  other  quarters  as  to  leave  no  doubt  in  my  mind 
that,  rare  as  th<>  malady  acknowledgedly  is,  and  hitherto  unde- 
seribed  as  it  has  remained,  it  will  one  day  find  a  place  in  our  es- 
tablished veterinary  nosology." 

Since  the  above  date,  Surgeon  Haycock  and  several  other 
writers  have  noticed  the  disease,  treated  it,  and  minutely  described 
its  symptoms.  They  all  agree  that  when  the  disease  docs  make 
its  appearance,  it  is  usually  the  sequel  of  epidemic  catarrh,  or  in- 
fluenza; and  this  was  probably  the  case  regarding  the  patient  the 
subject  of  this  paper,  for  the  owner  informed  me  that  the  animal 
had  previously  shown  symptoms  of  distemper. 


DISEASEt  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  291 


Ringworm. 

This  disease  usually  makes  its  appearance  on  the  shoulders  and 
sides  of  the  horse,  in  the  form  of  circular  patches,  attended  by 
scurfmess  and  loss  of  hair.  Small  vesicular  eruptions  can  also  bo 
detected,  by  means  of  a  magnifying  glass.  It  is  usually  sponta- 
neous iu  its  origin,  but  probably  is  generated  by  filth. 

Treatment. — In  view  of  treating  the  disease  successfully,  the 
tody  should  be  well  cleansed  with  soap  and  water,  and  afterward 
rubbed  dry ;  then  apply  daily,  by  means  of  a  sponge,  a  portion  of 
the  following : 

No.  36.  Powdered  sulphate  of  iron 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  bloodroot 2  oz. 

Rain-water 1  quart. 

Mix. 

Give,  as  an  alterative,  half  an  ounce  of  the  fluid  extract  of  man 
drake,  in  half  a  pint  of  water,  night  and  morning. 

When  the  disease  has  been  neglected,  the  parts  are  apt  to  ul- 
cerate; in  that  event,  the  following  preparation  is  recommended: 

No.  37.  Pyroligneous  acid 6  oz. 

Linseed  oil 5  oz. 

Spirits  of  camphor 2oz. 

Mix. 

Dress  the  ulcerations  twice  daily. 

A  liberal  supply  of  cut  grass,  sliced  potatoes,  or  carrots  should 
be  allowed,  if  they  can  be  obtained.  Particular  attention  should 
be  paid  to  the  matter  of  keeping  the  skin  clean.  The  treatment 
must  be  continued  until  all  vestiges  of  the  disease  have  disappeared, 
or  it  may  break  out  again. 


Prurigo  (Called  also  the  "Itch"). 

This  is  a  disease  of  the  skin,  accompanied  by  a  terribly  annoy- 
ing itching  sensation.  The  torment  experienced  by  animals  suf- 
fering under  this  form  of  malady  is  scarcely  describable.  They 
often  rub  and  abrade  the  skin  until  blood  appears  on  the  surface, 
and  they  are  rendered  perfectly  miserable.  There  are  said  to  be 
various  forms  of  prurigo,  but  they  do  not  differ  in  kind,  only  in 
degree.  Heat  aggravates  the  malady ;  therefore  horses  located  in 
a  warm  and  unventilated  stable  are  apt  to  suffer  most.     And  the 


292  DADDS  VETERINAKtf  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

same  remarks  apply  to  many  other  forms  of  disease,  which  show* 
how  important  it  is  that  stables  should  be  properly  ventilated. 

Symptoms. — The  skin  in  those  parts  where  the  affection  is  lo- 
cated shows  on  its  surface  small  elevations,  known  as  papulae ;  but 
they  are  difficult  to  discover  in  some  horses,  as  they  are  of  the  same 
tint  as  the  skin.  After  awhile  the  rubbing  tears  away  the  summhd 
of  the  papula?,  and  a  secretion  exudes  which  soon  forms  very  minute 

scabs. 

During  the  past  four  years  the  disease  has  prevailed  very  exten- 
sively among  army  horses,  and  it  usually  proved  very  obstinate, 
from  the  fact  that  very  few  of  the  army  farriers  understood  its 
true  nature ;  neither  were  they  acquainted  with  the  modus  operandi 
of  treatment.  The  authorities  contend  that  prurigo  is  not  a  con- 
tagious affection,  like  itch  and  mange,  and,  therefore,  it  may  be 
classed  as  a  local  affection,  brought  on  by  inattention  to  cleanliness. 
In  order  to  prevent  it,  the  author  advises  a  free  use  of  the  brush 
and  curry-comb. 

Treatment. — The  best  mode  of  treatment  is  as  follows.  Sponge 
the  affected  parts  thoroughly  with  the  following  lotion : 

No.  38.  Powdered  borax 4  oz. 

Rain-water 2  quarts. 

After  using  the  above  quantity,  at  one  or  two  dressings,  then 
rub  the  affected  regions  dry,  and  lubricate  the  <«arae  with  a  por- 
tion of  the  following : 

No.  39.  Kerosene  oil 4  oz. 

Pyroligneous  acid 12  oz. 

Mix. 

It  is  usually  good  policy  to  put  the  patient  under  a  course  or 
alterative  treatment;  therefore  the  author  recommends  that  he 
have,  daily,  thirty  grains  of  iodide  of  potass,  dissolved  in  four 
ounces  of  water,  to  be  given  in  the  form  of  drench,  every  day,  un- 
til tl*e  disease  has  disappeared. 

Poll-evil 

The  name  of  this  disease  originated  in  England,  in  consequence 
of  it  being  more  prevalent  in  that  country  than  in  some  others ; 
hence,  was  a  great  evil,  and  occurring  about  the  nape  of  the  neck 
or  region  of  the  poll,  it  was  called  "  poll-evil."     Much  of  the  poll- 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  292 

evil  j  curring  in  former  years  was  unnecessary,  and  occurred  in 
consequence  of  neglect,  injuries,  and  abuse.  The  disease  first 
makes  its  appearance  in  the  form  of  a  local  tumor,  of  an  inflam- 
matory character.  Soon  it  runs  into  the  suppurative  stage;  pus 
or  matter  is  secreted,  and  we  then  have  a  common  abscess,  which 
may  result  in  fistula  of  the  poll. 

Causes — The  disease  may  arise  from  blows  and  bruises.  Horses 
when  located  in  low-roofed  stables  are  apt  to  strike  the  poll  against 
the  ceiling,  or  a  beam,  or  the  upper  part  of  the  doorway,  and  fre- 
quent repetition  of  the  act  either  ends  in  induration  (hardening) 
->r  poll-abscess.  Some  grooms  are  in  the  habit  of  occasionally- 
jerking  the  animal's  head  by  means  of  the  halter,  and  some  horses 
are  very  restless  in  the  stall,  and  are  often  seen  to  jerk  their  heads 
upward,  forgetting  that  they  have  any  halter  around  their  necks, 
until  they  feel  the  pain  which  they  themselves  inflicted.  The  in- 
jury, slight  as  it  may  be,  often  remains  undiscovered  or  unattended 
to  until  considerable  tumefaction  or  even  suppuration  has  set  in. 
The  case  may  then  become  protracted,  and  exhaust  the  patience 
of  all  concerned.  Excessive  friction  on  the  nape  of  the  neck  from 
bridle  or  halter,  or  pressure  from  either  one  of  these  causes,  pro- 
duces poll-evil ;  and  the  halter,  by  being  fastened  too  tightly,  is  a 
fertile  cause  in  producing  this  affection.  Dirt  and  filth  are  oper- 
ative, also,  in  producing  this  malady.  It  is  well  known  that  the 
poll  is  a  part  which  very  seldom  makes  the  acquaintance  of  the 
brush  or  curry-comb,  yet  it  is  the  locality  of  considerable  dust  and 
scurf;  and  sometimes,  owing  to  accumulations  of  the  same,  a  cu- 
taneous eruption  arises,  and  the  itching  sensation  consequent  causes 
the  horse  to  fret  and  rub  whenever  he  can  get  a  chance.  The  evil 
goes  on,  until  what  was  at  first  superficial  now  becomes  deep- 
seated.  The  bungling  and  cruel  manner  of  sometimes  forcing  a 
small  collar  on  a  large  horse  often  does  mischief,  and  lays  the 
foundation  for  poll-evil.  Some  persons  are  in  the  habit  of  bracing 
the  horse's  head  downward  with  the  martingale,  so  as  to  bring  the 
lips  and  chest  in  close  proximity,  yet  forget  that  the  strain  comes 
on  the  poll  and  bruises  the  soft  parts. 

Treatment. — Should  the  tumor  be  discovered  in  its  early  stage, 
Lefore  matter  has  formed,  the  parts  should  be  bathed  often  with  a 
portion  of  vinegar  and  water,  equal  parts ;  or  else  a  cold-water 
dressing  or  pad  may  be  applied,  which  should  be  reapplied  as  fast 
us  it  becomes  dry.     Half  an  ounce  of  powdered  chlorate  of  potasa 


294  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

ehould  be  given  night  and  morning.  This  may  be  dissolved  in; 
Half  a  bucket  of  water,  which  the  horse  will  drink.  In  the  course 
of  a  couple  of  days,  the  practitioner  will  be  able  to  determine 
whether  or  not  the  tumor  is  likely  to  suppurate;  if  so,  it  will 
have  increased  in  size,  and  have  a  soft  fluctuating  feel. 

Just  as  soon  as  matter  can  be  detected,  the  abscess  must  be 
punctured  at  its  base,  by  means  of  a  thumb  lancet.  It  will  not 
do  to  allow  the  matter  to  accumulate  ;  for,  if  so,  it  will  burrow 
and  spread  in  various  directions,  making  a  very  extensive  and  for- 
midable abscess.  It  would  be  necessary  to  make  a  free  opening 
into  the  abscess  large  enough  to  admit  a  man's  finger,  and  if,  in 
the  course  of  a  day  or  two,  the  opening  should  partly  close  or  con- 
tract, it  must  be  dilated  with  a  knife.  So  soon  as  the  abscess  is 
laid  open,  all  the  matter  must  be  squeezed  out,  which  process  must 
be  accomplished  by  the  use  of  sponge  and  hot  water.  We  then, 
in  view  of  removing  every  particle  of  matter,  carefully  inject  the 
cavity  with  a  quantity  of  pyroligneous  acid  and  water,  equal  parts. 
A  glass  syringe  is  best,  as  the  acid  has  a  bad  effect  on  a  metal  one. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  sponge  the  cavity  once  daily  for  several 
days,  or  until  matter  ceases  to  form.  In  the  mean  time  the  ani- 
mal must  be  put  under  treatment,  for  it  is  very  rare  that  this  dis- 
ease can  be  cured  by  local  treatment  alone.  My  usual  custom  is 
to  give  the  patient  thirty  grains  of  the  iodide  of  potass,  twice 
daily,  in  half  a  bucket  of  water.  The  animal  will  not  refuse  to 
drink  it.  Should  he  be  weak  and  emaciated,  tonics  and  stimu- 
lants are  indicated.  Half  an  ounce  of  powdered  golden  seal  and 
the  same  quantity  of  ginger,  given  with  a  small  quantity  of  water, 
lis  a  drench,  daily,  will  answer  the  purpose.  Sometimes  it  is  ad- 
visable to  put  a  pad  of  cotton  cloth,  or  a  large  wad  of  oakum  on 
the  poll,  in  view  of  keeping  the  skin  and  sub-tissues  in  contact,  by 
which  means  they  more  readily  unite.  The  pad  may  be  secured 
to  the  part  by  passing  a  cotton  roller,  five  inches  wide  and  three 
yards  in  length,  around  the  neck.  At  the  poll  the  bandage  is  to 
be  further  secured,  by  tying  a  lock  of  the  hair  of  the  forehead  with 
a  lock  of  the  hair  of  the  mane.  This  precaution  prevents  the 
bandage  from  slipping  backward.  The  bandage  should  be  re- 
moved and  readjusted  every  day,  and  the  parts  are  to  be  cleansed 
and  syringed,  in  the  manner  just  alluded  to,  as  long  as  necessary. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  few  days,  should  the  secretion  of  matter  de- 
crease, then  the  chances  are  in  favor  of  a  cure. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN   AND  SCB-TISSOES.  296 

Cases,  however,  will  sometimes  occur  which  set  at  defiance  all 
our  skill.  In  such  we  find  that  either  the  ligamentary,  tendinous, 
or  fleshy  parts,  or  perhaps  the  bones,  are  involved,  and  it  often 
happens  that  fistulas  or  pipes  run  in  various  directions.  Such 
cases  require  the  services  of  a  surgeon,  who  will  dissect  out  the 
fistulous  pipes,  and  remove  all  the  diseased  portions  of  the  flesh 
and  bone.  The  after-treatment  is  then  the  same  as  we  have  just 
iadicated. 

Fistulous  Withees. 

This  disease  resembles  poll-evil,  and,  in  a  majority  of  cases, 
owes  its  origin  to  the  same  exciting  causes;  namely,  external 
bruises,  or  injury  inflicted  by  a  bad-fitting  collar  or  saddle.  The 
treatment  is  the  same  as  that  recommended  for  the  cure  of  poll- 
evil. 

"Warts  on  the  Skin. 

Warts  are  of  two  kinds.  One  of  these  makes  its  appearance 
upon,  and  consists  in  part  of  an  increased  development  of,  the 
outer  scurf  or  scarfskin ;  the  other  kind  is  contained  under,  and, 
while  it  elevates,  does  not  grow  from  the  scarfskin.  As  it  fre- 
ciuently  becomes  desirable  to  remove  these  growths,  and  to  coun- 
teract that  condition  of  skin  on  which  their  reproduction  depends, 
we  shall  briefly  describe  them.  The  most  common  kind  of  wart, 
and  that  called  the  true  angleberry,  is  the  first  of  the  two  to  which 
we  have  alluded.  It  has  always  a  hard,  horny  sort  of  investment 
externally.  This  is  formed  of  scales  of  scarfskin  matted  together 
in  great  quantities,  and  prolonged  from  the  true  skin,  to  which 
they  are  attached.  As  this  outer  covering  increases  in  growth,  it 
dries  and  splits  up  into  shreds  or  fibers,  which  generally  become 
more  or  less  pointed  at  their  free  ends.  Many  of  these  shreda 
may  grow  from  one  common  stock  or  pedicle,  called  the  "  neck." 
In  other  cases  there  is  no  well-defined  neck,  and  a  large  surface 
will  be  covered  with  a  coarse,  rough,  and  horny  crop  of  warts,  all, 
as  it  were,  united  where  they  originated  from  the  skin. 

Cause. — Warts  are  always  produced  from  what  may  be  consid- 
ered as  greatly-developed  knots,  or  papillae,  within  the  true  skin. 
Blood,  in  greater  quantities  than  natural,  is  sent  to  these,  and  the 
papillae  continuing  to  grow,  forms  perceptible  tumors,  which  are 
somewhat  sensitive,  painful  if  exposed  to  friction,  and  form  V 


296  DADDS  VETERINARY  ]\i^DICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

throw  oif  the  scaly  covering  which  eventually  forms  the  main  part 
of  warts.  We  see  many  instances  of  warts  on  the  human  hands 
and  other  parts  of  the  body,  and  always  find  that  the  dry,  horny 
part  grows  from  the  skin  somewhat  thickened  and  increased  in 
vascularity.  So  great,  indeed,  is  the  quantity  of  blood  which 
some  warts  receive,  that  they  bleed  much  more  profusely  than 
other  portions  of  skin  when  wounded. 

The  other  kind  of  wart  to  which  we  alluded  does  not  cause  at\y 
external  roughness  or  scaly  appearance.  It  is  formed  within  the 
outer  skin,  and  commonly  appears  as  a  circumscribed  round  tu- 
mor. On  being  examined  by  the  hand,  it  is  felt  to  be  contained 
in  a  sack  or  pouch,  within  which  it  is  easily  moveable.  It  is 
almost  insensible,  and  consists  of  a  quantity  of  white  fibrous  and 
sometimes  grisly  substance,  which  does  not  possess  blood-vessels 
in  its  interior.  We  often  meet  with  this  kind  of  encysted  wart 
near  the  outer  organs  of  generation  in  the  horse  or  mare.  The 
horny  wart  which  we  first  noticed  is  common  in  horses,  cattle, 
and  dogs.  The  encysted  wart  is  comparatively  rare  in  cattle;  it 
is  more  common  in  dogs,  but  is  most  frequently  found  in  horses. 

Treatment. — In  treating  warts  with  a  view  to  remove  them,  and 
prevent  their  reproduction,  it  becomes  necessary  to  destroy,  in  a 
measure,  the  surface  from  which  they  sprout.  When  an  angle- 
berry  has  a  "neck,"  this  should  be  cut  off  flat  and  close  with  the 
skin,  and  the  raw  surface  thus  made  should  be  touched  occasion- 
ally and  freely  with  caustic  or  a  heated  iron.  If  the  neck  be  so 
large  as  to  endanger  much  bleeding  if  divided  at  once,  a  ligature 
of  thin,  strong  string  may  be  tied  round  it  very  tightly,  in  order 
to  cut  off  its  supply  of  blood.  The  ligature  should  be  applied 
frequently — daily,  if  convenient.  Where  a  large  surface  is  cov- 
ered by  warts  which  do  not  possess  any  definite  necks,  their  horny 
parts  should  be  cropped  or  cut  closely  down  to  the  true  skin,  with 
scissors  or  other  convenient  instrument,  and  the  surface  thus  ex- 
posed should  then  be  touched  with  a  hot  iron,  or  rubbed  with 
caustic  potass.  Such  application  is  to  be  continued  till  the  horij 
ceases  to  grow.  Encysted  warts  are  removed  by  cutting  the  skin 
of  the  sack  and  squeezing  them  out.  The  exposed  cavity  should 
be  dressed  daily  with  digestive  ointment 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  297 

Purpura  Hemorrhagica  ("  Scurvy  "). 

A  disease  not  unfrequently  makes  its  appearance  among  horsea 
termed  purpura  hemorrhagica,  known  in  human  practice  as  the 
"  purples."  It  consists  of  congestion  (extravasation)  blood  of  and 
effusion  of  serum  (water)  into  the  cellular  tissue.  The  disease 
probably  owes  its  origin  to  a  depraved  condition  of  the  blood. 

Symptoms. — On  making  an  examination  of  the  affected  animal, 
we  find  that  the  cellular  tissue,  in  various  parts  of  the  body,  is 
distended  with  serum  and  blood.  Local  swelling  will  appear  in 
various  parts  of  the  body,  more  particularly  about  the  face,  lips, 
and  limbs.  The  disease  also  affects  internal  parts.  Blood  is 
sometimes  passed  with  the  urine  and  feces ;  respiration  is  embar- 
rassed ;  the  heart  palpitates,  and  abnormal  cerebral  symptoms  set 
in.  In  the  human  subject  the  disease  is  considered  strictly  as  a 
hemorrhage.  Small  round  spots  appear  on  various  parts  of  the 
body  and  legs,  of  a  dull  crimson  or  purple  color.  Pressure  upon 
them  does  not  efface  the  color,  nor  render  it  fainter,  as  it  does  that 
of  common  inflammatory  spots  of  the  skin.  There  is  scarcely  any 
prominence  of  the  purple  stigmata;  but  they  are  sometimes  inter- 
mixed with  livid  blotches,  with  appearances  exactly  resembling 
bruises,  and  they  undergo,  before  they  disappear,  the  same  changes 
in  color  which  attends  the  disappearance  of  a  bruise.  In  fact,  the 
anatomical  condition  of  a  bruise  is  exactly  the  same,  with  the  dif- 
fused condition  as  in  purpura.  In  each  case  the  color  is  the  result 
of  echymosis  (effusion  of  blood  beneath  the  skin). 

In  the  human  subject,  also,  the  disease  is  not  confined  to  the 
skin.  Watson  informs  us  that  "  the  spots  are  not  confined  to  the 
skin,  nor  to  the  subcutaneous  tissues,  but  are  found,  occasionally, 
upon  all  the  internal  surfaces  also,  and  within  the  substance  of 
the  several  viscera  (internal  organs  of  the  body).  I  have  seen 
these  purple  spots  in  the  mucous  surface  of  the  mouth,  throat, 
stomach,  and  intestines;  in  the  pleura  and  pericardium;  in  the 
chest;  in  the  peritoneal  investment  of  the  abdominal  organs;  in 
the  substance  of  the  muscles,  and  even  upon  the  membranes  of 
the  brain  and  in  the  sheaths  of  the  large  nerves,  and  I  have  known 
them  to  be  accompanied  with  large  extravasations  of  blood  in  most 
of  the  vital  organs  of  the  body." 

The  same  appearances  have  been  observed  in  equine  autopsies, 
•vliich  accounts  for  the  immobility  and  deranged  condition  of  all 


2*J8  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

the  functions.  Sometimes  the  throat  is  so  badly  affected  that 
tracheotomy  has  to  be  resorted  to.  Now  and  then  the  tongue  be- 
comes livid  and  swollen,  so  that  the  animal  can  not  partake  of 
food.  In  such  cases  the  tongue  may  be  freely  swabbed  with  warm 
vinegar,  until  its  volume  is  reduced. 

Treatment. — So  soon  as  the  disease  is  discovered,  the  animal 
Rhould  be  put  under  the  following  treatment : 

No.  40.  Fluid  extract  of  bloodroot 2  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  buchu. 4  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  ginger 3  oz. 

Mix. 

Give  one  ounce  of  this  mixture  night  and  morning,  in  about  a 
gill  of  water.  Should  there  appear  to  be  any  trouble  with  the 
throat,  lubricate  it,  twice  daily,  with  a  portion  of  the  following: 

No.  41.  Olive  oil 4  oz. 

Camphor 1  oz. 

Mix. 

In  preparing  the  above,  it  is  best  to  pulverize  the  camphor, 
when  it  will  dissolve  more  readily  in  the  oil.  A  lotion  must  now 
be  prepared,  with  which  the  whole  surface  of  the  body  should  be 
sponged  daily. 

No.  42.  Spirits  of  ammonia 3  oz. 

Spirits  of  camphor 2  oz. 

Pulverized  rock  salt 6  oz. 

Rain-water 2  pints 

Dissolve  the  salt  in  the  water,  allowing  the  impurities  to  settle ; 
then  add  the  clear  liquor  to  the  camphor  and  ammonia,  previously 
mixed. 

It  occasionally  happens  that  the  skin,  in  various  parts  of  the 
body,  cracks,  and  portions  slough  off.  Should  there  be  any  appear- 
ance of  the  kind,  discontinue  the  above  lotion  and  substitute  the 
following;: 


*& 


No.  43.  Pyroligneous  acid )  j        ts 

Olive  oil )    n- 

Every  time  the  patient  is  watered,  (say  about  three  times  per 
day,)  half  an  ounce  of  hyposulphite  of  soda  should  be  dissolved 
in  the  pail.  Vegetables,  also,  are  indicated,  if  they  are  to  be  had. 
I  should  give  tomatoes,  sliced  carrots,  potatoes,  and  green  grass. 
Bleeding,  purging,  and  all  kinds  of  poisonous  and  sedative  medi- 
cines are  inadmissible. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SKIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  299 


Out  of  Condition  (Hide-bound;. 

Either  from  derangement  of  the  digestive  function,  or  in  con- 
sequence of  the  animal  being  fed  on  poor  provender  or  wcrked 
beyond  his  strength,  debility  and  emaciation  ensue.  A  horse  out 
of  condition  usually  loses  flesh ;  the  hair  loses  its  glossy  appear- 
ance ;  the  skin  becomes  unhealthy  and  scurfy,  and  he  can  not  per- 
form his  ordinary  labor  without  apparent  fatigue. 

Treatment. — The  best  remedy,  if  the  season  permits,  is  a  run  at 
grass,  taking  care  to  give  a  good  feed  of  oats  every  night ;  other- 
wise the  grass  will  not  improve  his  condition.  In  the  stable  the 
treatment  is  as  follows :  Give  the  animal  one  ounce  of  the  fluid 
extract  of  camomile  flowers  every  morning,  before  feeding,  and 
at  night  mix  one  ounce  of  powdered  poplar  bark  with  the  oats. 
This,  together  with  good  food  and  rest,  will  complete  the  cure 

Herpes  (Tetter). 

Herpes  is  a  disease  of  the  skin,  manifesting  itself  in  the  form 
of  vesicles,  which  contain  a  small  quantity  of  aqueous  fluid  effused 
beneath  the  true  skin.  Sometimes  they  are  thinly  scattered  over 
the  surface,  and  sometimes  collected  into  clusters.  The  vesicles 
appear  in  irregular  succession.  They  terminate,  also,  in  various 
ways :  by  the  reabsorption  of  the  fluid,  and,  in  bad  cases,  falling 
off  of  the  hair,  and  peeling  of  the  skin,  in  some  places.  In  the 
human  subject  the  malady  is  considered  transient  and  non-con- 
tagious, consisting  of  red  patches,  of  irregular  form  and  variable 
size,  upon  each  of  which  stands  a  crop  of  vesicles. 

Treatment. — I  have  been  very  successful  in  the  treatment  of  this 
malady  by  using  the  following  lotion : 

No.  44.  Glycerine 2  oz. 

Tannin 2  dr. 

Rain-water 4  oz. 

Apply  once  or  twice  daily,  by  means  of  a  soft  sponge. 

Tn  the  horse  the  affection  sometimes  assumes  an  epizootic  form. 
In  that  event  it  can  be  communicated  to  man,  as  the  following 
cases  will  show : 

"  At  the  commencement  of  1849,  Count  Faverges  invited  Pro- 
fessor Papa  to  the  valley  of  Borne,  in  Savoy,  to  see  a  disease 
affecting  animals,  and  which  even  spread  to  men.     Every  facility 


300  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

was  offered  by  Government  to  Professor  Papa,  and  many  persung 
having  affected  animals  were  requested  to  permit  their  inspection, 
and,  indeed,  threatened  with  a  fine  if  they  did  not.  Papa  saw 
about  three  hundred  horses  and  mules  affected.  The  disease  ap- 
peared in  circular  patches  of  furfuraceous  scales,  with  grayish- 
white  scabs.  These  patches  had  usually  well-defined  margins, 
about  the  size  of  a  dollar  or  five-shilling  piece.  Usually  they 
were  isolated,  but  at  other  times  they  were  confluent,  or  running 
together  in  groups.  The  head,  neck,  withers,  shoulders,  and  loins 
were  the  parts  chiefly  affected.  More  rarely  the  upper  portion  of 
the  extremities,  and  never  on  the  lower  part  of  the  limbs,  chest, 
or  belly.  The  malady  commences  with  a  violent  itching,  and  an 
eruption  in  small  circumscribed  points,  about  the  size  of  a  lentil, 
is  witnessed.  The  scabs  form,  with  the  exudation  drying  and 
entangling  cuticle  and  hairs.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  first,  other 
eruptive  spots  appeared,  which,  widening,  became  confluent  and 
run  into  one  another,  especially  where  the  skin  is  folded  and  ani- 
mals have  a  chance  of  rubbing  themselves.  A  scab  forms  on  the 
sore  surface,  and  the  surface  beneath  it  is  red  and  tumefied,  but  in 
a  little  time  desquamation  occurs.  A  very  careful  microscopical 
examination  failed  to  indicate  the  existence  of  any  acari. 

The  disease  is  contagious,  and  Papa  says  all  those  who  come 
more  or  •  less  in  contact  with  herpetic  horses  or  mules,  and  espe- 
cially the  conductors  of  the  same,  were  covered  on  the  arms,  legs, 
chest,  and  face  with  pruriginous  eruptions,  limited  and  circum- 
scribed, sometimes  isolated,  occasionally  confluent,  in  the  form 
of  red  patches  covered  with  papulae  and  vesicles,  which  become 
incrusted  with  brownish-yellow  scabs,  beneath  which  purulent 
deposits  formed.  In  consequence  of  the  violent  pruritis  attending 
this  disease,  it  was  believed  to  be  scabies  or  itch  by  the  peoplej 
and,  though  in  many  houses  individuals  were  affected,  they  were 
ashamed  to  confess  it,  and  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  Papa 
collected  information  on  the  subject;  but,  having  gained  confidence 
on  the  lattei,  the  people  more  freely  related  their  cases  to  him. 
The  first  to  be  affected  were  those  intrusted  with  dressing  the  dis- 
eased animals.  The  parts  first  attacked  were  the  articular  regions 
about  the  forearm,  arm,  face,  and  rarely  the  lower  limbs. 

Papa  describes  one  of  many  cases  of  direct  contagion.  It  oc- 
curred in  a  lad  of  sixteen,  who  had  jumped  on  the  bare  back  of  an 
affected  horse,  to  take  it  to  a  watering-place.    Two  days  afterward. 


DISEASES  OF  THE  SEIN  AND  SUB-TISSUES.  301 

on  the  inside  of  the  thighs  and  legs,  from  the  pubis  to  the  calf  of 
the  leg,  there  was  extreme  pruritis.  The  skin  became  of  reddish- 
brown  color,  and  vesicles,  full  of  yellowish  lymph,  formed,  which 
gave  way  to  vesicular  patches  or  scabs,  rough  to  the  touch,  first 
isolated,  and  afterward  confluent. 

The  transmission  occurred  from  horse  to  horse,  horse  to  man, 
and  from  man  to  man ;  in  fact,  persons  who  never  touched  an  af- 
fected horse  were  infected  from  individuals  they  came  in  contact 
mill.  A  soldier,  having  arrived  in  perfect  health  from  his  regi- 
ment, slept  with  his  brother,  who  suffered  from  the  disease,  and 
became  affected.  The  wives  of  carters  not  only  took  the  disease, 
but  communicated  it  to  their  sucking  infants. 

Papa  visited  the  district  at  a  season  when  the  fetid  hellebore  was 
growing  abundantly.  He  caused  some  to  be  gathered,  and  obtained 
decoctions  of  the  roots.  "With  this  he  mixed  equal  parts  of  water, 
and  distributed  the  lotion  in  different  parts,  to  be  applied  to  men 
and  animals  that  were  affected.  "Without  any  internal  treatment, 
this  application  had  the  best  effect.  He  tried  tobacco  decoction, 
but  not  with  a  similar  amount  of  success.  Papa  regards  the  dis- 
ease as  the  herpes  tonsurans,  which  has  been  spoken  of  bj  many 
veterinarians  as  common  in  the  live  animals."  * 

•  Edinburg  Veterinary  Review. 


>w    «i    ii    ■■    ii    '■    ■ »    m    11    n    if    g    in    n i__^ 


n — "    '•■    "'    u     "    My     lf"n    ,K    u«   t^-°j>    i"< 


SECTION   XI. 

ON  BREEDING,  AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  OP  THE  SAME 

Rreedino — The  Principles  of  Breedino — In-and-in  Breeding — Permaneni 
Varieties  —Animals  become  Parents  too  Early — Objections  to  In-anp- 
in  Breeding  Answered — The  Advantage  op  In-and-in  Breeding  Tbb 
Importance  of  Studying  Anatomy  and  Physiology. 


Breeding. 

ri^HE  choice  of  a  sire  aud  dam  is  a  point  of  the  utmost  conse- 
JL  quence  in  breeding  horses  (or  indeed  any  other  animal),  as 
the  offspring  will  be  found,  in  almost  every  instance,  to  inherit 
the  qualities  of  its  parents.  Peculiarity  of  form  and  constitution 
is  inherent,  and  descends  from  generation  to  generation ;  hence 
the  necessary  attention  to  those  niceties  which  breeders  are  often 
apt  to  forget.  Xor  is  it  sufficient  that  one  of  the  parents  be  good 
and  the  other  indifferent ;  for  the  perfection  of  the  sire  may  be 
lost  through  the  deficiencies  of  the  mare,  and  vice  versa. 

In  the  selection  of  a  stallion  many  things  should  be  observed. 
There  should  be  general  uniformity  and  compactness  in  every 
part.  The  height  should  depend  on  the  occupation  the  foal  is 
destined  to  fill  The  legs  should  be  particularly  examined,  and 
disease  should  pervade  no  part  of  the  system.  Fat,  heavy  horses, 
with  thick  legs,  and  coarse,  unseemly  heads,  should  always  be 
avoided.  Horses  should  be  free  from  specks  on  the  eye — partial 
or  total  blindness.  Temper  10  an  essential  point,  for  vice  is  some- 
times hereditary.  Stallions  that  cover  too  many  mares  in  a  sea- 
son, in  the  latter  period  produce  weak  offspring. 

As  regards  the  mare,  it  is  well  known  that  the  dam  contributes 

more  to  the  integrity  of  the  offspring  than  the  sire.    It  is  essential 

thai  she  be  in  full  possession  of  her  natural  strength  and  powers. 

The  vigor  of  the  constitution  determines  much  in  favor  of  thp 

(302) 


BREEDING,  AMD  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SAME  303 

foal.  It  is  a  great  error  to  suppose  that  a  mare  that  has  once 
heen  good,  and  capable  of  great  exertion,  should,  when  old,  and 
no  longer  fitted  for  work,  produce  offspring  equally  efficient  as 
when  in  her  prime.  The  foal  will  certainly  inherit  some  of  the 
weakness  of  the  present  nature  and  broken-down  constitution. 
Mares  should  never  be  put  to  the  stallion  until  they  have  arrived 
at  maturity,  which  takes  place  about  the  fifth  year.  Mares  are 
bred  from  earlier,  but  it  is  a  bad  practice,  for  strength  and  beauty 
are  absent;  and  thus  not  only  is  the  dam  rendered  inefficient 
sooner  than  in  one  that  is  allowed  to  come  to  maturity,  but  the 
foal  can  never  be  expected  to  be  either  healthy  or  strong  in  con- 
stitution. The  period  of  going  with  foal  is  eleven  months.  After 
the  sixth  month,  great  care  and  gentleness  should  be  exercised  to- 
ward them.  Moderate  exercise  is  essential.  Hard  work  in  har- 
ness, over  bad  roads,  is  likely  to  produce  abortion,  and  mares  thai 
have  once  aborted  are  very  liable  (if  the  same  causes  are  in  ope- 
ration) to  a  recurrence  of  the  same. 

The  proper  time  for  copulation  is  when  there  is  a  discharge  of 
a  whitish  fluid  from  the  vagina.  She  neighs  frequently,  and  ex- 
hibits great  desire  for  the  horse.  When  she  has  conceived  she 
shows  no  further  desire,  and  the  discharge  from  the  vagina  stops. 
Some  writers  recommend  that  the  mare  be  put  to  the  stallion  early 
after  foaling.  This  is  bad  policy,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the 
dam,  if  she  become  impregnated,  has  to  nourish  both  the  foal  and 
the  embryo.  This  is  excessively  weakening,  and  tells  on  either 
dam,  foetus,  or  foal. 

Disproportionate  copulations  are  also  objectionable,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, putting  a  large  horse  to  a  small  mare.  When  improve- 
ment in  size  is  the  object,  it  should  be  attempted  by  regulai 
gradations.  This  is  the  best  method  of  securing  size  and  beauty, 
as  well  as  strength.  The  best  mode  of  preserving  the  breed  and 
making  improvements  is,  to  make  selections  of  the  best  on  both 
sides.  Much  judgment  and  circumspection  is  necessary,  at  all 
times,  in  crossing  the  breed,  and  many  errors  arise  in  consequence 
of  a  want  of  knowledge  on  this  subject. 

When  the  period  of  foaling  draws  nigh,  the  mare  should  be 
separated  from  her  companions.  Having  foaled,  she  should  be 
turned  into  a  pasture,  if  possible ;  otherwise,  into  a  loose  box 
inclosure,  or  empty  barn.  The  foal  may  be  weaned  at  the  age 
of  six  months,  more  or  less,  as  circumstances  seem  to  require.     A 


304  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGER*. 

weak  foal  should  run  with  its  mother  for  a  longer  period  than 
one  that  shows  signs  of  vigorous  health.  Should  the  foal  die  at 
the  period  of  parturition,  humanity  would  seem  to  suggest  that 
the  mare  be  excused  from  duty  for  a  week  or  two,  by  which  time 
she  will  have  recovered  from  the  effects  of  parturiJ  ior. 

The  Principles  of  Breeding. 

It  is  a  law  of  Nature  that  peculiarities  of  form,  size,  color,  etc., 
shall  be  transmitted  by  parents  to  offspring,  ("  like  begets  like,") 
although,  under  certain  circumstances,  a  modification  of  this  law 
is  to  be  expected.  If,  for  example,  we  liberate  an  animal  from 
domestication  and  its  influences,  which  are  known  to  operate  very 
markedly  on  animal  organizations  and  habits,  the  creature  thus  lib- 
erated loses  its  acquirements,  and,  in  successive  generations,  grad- 
ually returns  to  the  original  type.  This  is  a  modification  of  the 
above  law,  and,  supposing  our  pecuniary  interests  are  the  object  of 
the  experiment,  it  will  be  an  improvement  in  the  wrong  direction. 

On  the  other  hand,  take  a  wild  animal ;  bring  him  under  the 
influences^of  domestication,  and  he  gradually  loses  all  his  distinc- 
tive characteristics  of  size,  form,  and  instinct,  and,  in  popular 
language,  becomes  a  new  creature,  improved  or  not,  as  the  case 
may  be,  under  the  direction  of  his  lord  and  master ;  so  that  the 
inferior  orders  of  creation  are  really  the  creatures  of  circumstances. 
These  changes  are  the  result  of  man's  experience  or  non-expe- 
rience. These  are  general  propositions  which  "precede  beauty 
and  symmetry." 

Beauty  and  Symmetry. — If  we  examine  into  the  methods  pur- 
sued by  some  of  the  most  successful  raisers  of  live  stock,  we  shall 
see  that  they  paid  particular  attention  to  the  selection  of  well- 
formed,  beautiful  animals.  They  very  naturally  supposed  that  ex- 
ternal conformation  was  transmissible;  that  if  they  happened  to 
obtain  a  good  calf  or  foal  from  inferior,  diseased,  or  malformed 
parents,  it  was  purely  accidental,  and  out  of  the  ordinary  course 
of  Nature.  In  selecting  beautiful  animals,  they  naturally  excluded 
those  01  narrow  chest,  which  peculiarity  is  indicative  of  predispo- 
sition to  pulmonary  affections  and  founder  (the  latter  term  signi- 
fying a  worthless  or  ruined  condition,  which,  in  the  eye  of  the 
law,  renders  them  actually  unsound),  because  they  have  that  about 
them  which  may  impair  their  future  usefulness.     Hence,  for  nvre 


BREEDING,  A^i)  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SAME.  305 

»«asons  than  one,  such  are  unfit  for  breeding  purposes,  unless, 
however,  the  morbid  phenomena  be  neutralized  by  blood,  in  one 
of  the  parents,  of  a  superior  order,  free  from  taint,  as  it  appears  in 
the  other. 

Tn  my  adventures  in  search  of  the  beautiful,  I  should  pass  by 
all  animals  having  any  peculiarity  of  conformation,  general  or 
local,  which  experience  teaches  me  are  sure  to  reappear  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  in  future  progeny.  This  appears  to  be  the 
proper  course  to  pursue;  yet  many,  otherwise  intelligent  men  will 
invest  their  money  in  the  purchase  of  defective  animals,  merely 
because  they  can  be  bought  cheap,  when  every  body  knows,  or 
ought  to  know,  that  cheap  animals,  like  cheap  watches,  <ost  more, 
in  the  end,  for  repairs,  etc.,  than  a  commodity  of  more  real  value. 
The  same  rule  applies  to  horses.  Some  men,  if  they  happen  to 
be  in  possession  of  a  broken-down  mare,  unable,  from  faults,  de- 
feds,  old  age,  and  disease,  to  perform  ordinary  horse  duties,  com- 
mence a  speculation  in  a  different  enterprise.  The  reproductive 
organs  must  be  exercised.  Just  at  this  time  some  cent-and-dollar 
calculating  jockey  advertises  and  exhibits  a  well-fed,  prancing  steed, 
bearing  a  popular  name ;  but  his  whole  carcass  is  redolent  of  faults 
and  defects,  which  the  owner  is  not  expected  to  know  any  thing 
about,  and  if  he  does,  it  is  not  for  his  interest  to  point  them  out. 
The  price  of  copulation  is  dirt  cheap,  and  the  foolish  speculator 
expects  to  obtain  a  smart  colt,  that  will  eventually  command  u 
high  price.  But,  alas  for  such  milk-and-water  calculations!  the 
expected  specimen  of  equine  animality  inherits  and  exhibits  its 
parental  infirmities  and  deformities,  and  ultimately  becomes  a 
living  monument  of  the  folly  of  its  owner. 

There  is  no  beauty  in  the  faults  and  defects  which  must  neces- 
sarily occur  through  the  sexual  congress  of  faulty  and  defective 
animals ;  neither  can  there  be  grace  in  the  motions  of  an  overfed 
or  ill-conditioned  animal.  Beauty,  symmetry,  grace,  and  sound- 
ness are  defunct  in  the  ill-conditioned  creature,  or  otherwise  de- 
fied ve  one — a  mere  apology  for  the  handiwork  of  Nature.  The 
muscular  system  of  a  horse  or  cow  may,  in  some  regions  of  the 
body,  be  well-developed;  but  should  their  limbs  be  unnaturally 
curved,  or  any  part  of  their  system  be  out  of  proportion  to  the 
other  parts  of  the  body,  then  beauty  has  never  seated  itself  on 
their  thrones.  Yet  we  can  improve  the  appearance  of  such  ani- 
oial.o  by  artificial  means  and  costly  adornments.  This  artificial 
20 


306  I/aDD'S  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

kind  of  beauty  is  what  most  men  seek  after,  and,  at  a  high  price, 
to  tneir  sorrow,  obtain  it;  whereas  the  real  beauty  of  form  and 
endowments,  which  practical  husbandmen  really  require,  must 
originate  unartificially  in  the  living  citadel — must  be  the  work 
of  Nature  and  not  of  art. 

It  is  a  fact,  well  known  to  many  men,  that  animals  of  faultless 
form,  having  symmetrical  proportions,  are  exempt  from  many 
diseases  which  are  the  heritage  of  faulty  and  inferior  animals,  and 
insurance  companies  take  advantage  of  this  knowledge,  and  insure 
the  former  at  less  rates  than  the  latter.  As  an  illustration  of  the 
above,  I  may  be  permitted  to  remark  that  the  "  Arabian  Courser/' 
English  "  blood  horse,"  American  "  Black  H*  wk,,y  and  pure 
"  Devon "  cow — all  remarkable  for  good  points,  beauty,  and  en- 
durance— are  exempt  from  many  of  the  common  and  unnecessary 
diseases  and  abortions.  Beauty  and  symmetrical  proportions  con- 
tribute to  health,  because  there  is  a  certain  degree  of  relationship 
between  external  and  internal  organs  and  functions.  For  exam- 
ple, a  fine  exterior,  good  depth  of  chest,  well-proportioned  muscles, 
and  graceful  limbs  are  generally  coexistent  with  good  "  wind  and 
bottom,"  and  the  subjects,  of  course,  possess  active  respiratory 
organs,  a  finely-balanced  circulation,  and  a  digestive  apparatus 
that  can  digest  every  article  in  the  shape  of  fodder.  In  seating 
the  beautiful,  we  therefore  obtain  material  for  perpetuating  health, 
long  life,  and  valuable  offspring. 

One  of  Blakewell's  great  secrets  was,  "  Breed  from  the  beau- 
tiful." I  allude  to  him  because  he  was  the  most  successful 
"  breeder  "  that  England  ever  boasted  of.  At  the  onset  he  paid 
great  attention  to  "  beauty  of  form."  Having  developed  a  fine 
exterior,  he  engrafted  on  it  the  useful.  He  was  well  aware  that 
beauty  and  utility  were  not  always  combined,  but,  being  in  pos- 
session of  the  former,  he  could  produce  the  latter  to  "order;"  and 
he  accomplished  his  object  in  the  following  manner.  He  required 
cows  that  would  yield  a  large  quantity  of  milk;  consequently  he 
selected  those  whose  dams  had  long  been  celebrated  for  their  ex- 
cellent milking  qualities,  and  from  among  such  he  chose  the  very 
best  female  of  the  family,  and  united  her  with  a  beautiful  male. 
Having,  in  the  production  of  offspring  through  the  above  uniou, 
accomplished  his  object,  he  then  paid  less  attention  to  beauty,  and 
more  to  the  milking  qualities,  so  as  to  render  the  latter  permanent 
in  the  breed.     Still,  in  all  his  experiments  he  rejected  uncouth. 


BREEDING,  AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SAME.  307 

■unthrifty,  and  defective  animals.  I  am  aware,  however,  that  the 
evils  of  domestication  are  operative,  to  a  certain  extent,  on  all 
animals.  Still,  I  contend  that  the  "  well-bred  "  animal  can  resist 
the  insidious  encroachments  of  disease,  and  survive  longer  under 
its  depressing  influence  than  "ill-favored"  creatures.  Illustra- 
tions are  not  wanting  to  prove  the  correctness  of  Blakewell's 
theory;  therefore,  I  advise  the  reader  to  follow  the  example  of 
one  who  has  been  styled  the  "  Napoleon  of  breeders." 

In-and-in  Breeding. 

We  now  inquire,  What  is  breeding  in-and-in?  I  answer,  It 
implies  consanguinity — breeding  from  animals  of  the  same  blood, 
or  propagating  in  a  close  degree  of  relationship.  Some  persons 
have  an  idea  that  this  system  is  pernicious,  and  leads  to  degen- 
eracy and  premature  decay  j  but  that  is  a  matter  of  argument,  and, 
as  I  shall  attempt  to  prove,  depends  on  the  skill  of  the  "  breeder," 
and  his  ability  to  make  wise  selections.  The  human  race — the 
sons  and  daughters  of  Adam  and  Eve — afford  a  stupendous  illus- 
tration of  the  practicability  of  in-and-in  breeding.  The  millions 
terrestrial  all  originated  (so  the  Good  Book  informs  us)  from  our 
common  parents,  and,  consequently,  we  are  all  "blood"  relations; 
and  this  fact  goes  to  show  that  in-and-in  breeding  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  laws  of  physiology,  and  does  not  conflict  with  the 
intentions  of  "  Him  who  doeth  all  things  well."  It  is  a  part  of 
the  great  scheme  of  creation,  a  physiological  law,  the  problem  of 
life,  to  solve  which  God  has  endowed  us  with  reason,  "  God-like 
reason,"  the  exercise  of  which  puts  us  in  possession  of  the  fruit 
of  the  "  tree  of  knowledge.'-'  The  non-exercise  of  the  same  fur- 
nishes us  with  forbidden  fruit. 

Ill-assorted  marriages — consumption  mating  with  consumption, 
and  scrofula  with  scrofula — seeks  at  the  altar  an  introduction  to 
an  early  grave.  The  same  is  true  of  animals.  Bad  selections 
thwart  the  intentions  of  the  Creator,  mar  his  handiwork,  and  if  a 
friendly  epizootic  sweeps  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  it  is 
more  of  a  blessing  than  a  curse.  From  the  great  human  family 
I  select  a  branch  to  illustrate  this  principle,  and  I  choose  to  refer 
to  the  Jews.  So  long  as  they  are  so  in  faith  and  practice — mar- 
rying their  own  kindred— they  are  a  living  illustration  of  the 
above  principle.     Have  they  degenerated?    No.    The  distinctive 


308  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

characteristics  of  the  race  are  just  as  remarkable  as  they  ever 
were.  The  vicious  and  defective  find  an  early  grave,  but  the 
u  race  "  remains  pure. 

Now,  as  regards  horses  and  cows,  the  same  is  true ;  they  all  had 
a  common  origin.  The  different  varieties  that  now  exist  are  the 
work  of  time,  circumstances,  and  the  art  of  man.  The  famous 
horses  mentioned  by  Mahomet,  in  the  "Koran,"  resulted  from 
in-and-in  breeding.  They  have  existed  and  multiplied  for  three 
thousand  years  without  the  slightest  intermixture  of  foreign  blood, 
and,  from  the  time  of  Solomon  up  to  the  present  day,  their  pedi- 
gree has  been  watched  and  chronicled  with  great  care,  so  that  no 
doubt  exists  as  regards  their  consanguinity.  Their  fine  form, 
splendid  action,  endurance,  spirit,  speed,  and  docility  can  only  be 
retained  by  preserving  the  race  pure,  and  this  is  an  argument  in 
favor  of  in-and-in  breeding. 

No  breed  can  be  preserved  pure  unless  the  in-and-in  system  be 
pursued.  Take  the  Suffolk  pig,  for  example.  So  long  as  we  put 
Suffolk  to  Suffolk  we  get  "  pure  "  Suffolk,  and,  if  proper  selections 
have  been  made,  good  Suffolks  are  the  result ;  but  deviate  from 
direct  lineage,  and  the  breed  degenerates,  for  better  or  worse,  as 
the  case  may  be,  and  they  lose  their  permanency  of  type,  and  cease 
to  become  pure  bloods. 

'  From  the  brave  descend  the  brave. 

The  Suffolks  in  this  country  are  notorious  for  a  cutaneous  disease 
simulating  scrofula,  and  many  suppose  that  this  arises  in  conse- 
quence of  the  in-and-in  system  of  breeding ;  but  this  I  think  is 
an  error.  It  results  from  the  evils  of  domestication,  and  our 
want  of  knowledge  in  making  proper  selections.  There  often  is 
one  or  more  animals  in  a  litter  incapacitated,  by  fault,  defect,  or 
debility,  to  perpetuate  the  stamina  and  remarkable  points  of  the 
breed ;  these  are  to  be  rejected.  If  we  fail  to  do  so,  the  next  gen- 
eration, or  the  next  to  that,  furnish  more  convincing  proof  of  error, 
which  I  contend  exists  in  making  "bad"  selections,  and  not  in 
the  above  system. 

Turn  for  a  moment  to  the  history  of  the  French  Merino,  and 
we  shall  find  that  Victor  Gilbert — a  name  familiar  to  Ameri- 
ca's most  successful  sheep  raisers — practiced  no  other  than  the  in- 
and-in  system  of  breeding.  A  lot  of  Merinos  were  sent,  in  1786, 
by  the  Queen  of  Spain,  to  the  King  of  France.     The  latter,  in 


BREEDING,  AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SAME.  309 

order  to  benefit  the  agricultural  community,  sent  half  of  them  to 
Ranibouillet,  and  the  other  half  to  Croissy.  The  climate  hap- 
pened to  suit  them,  and  they  were  considered  superior  to  the  ex- 
isting breeds  in  France.  In  the  year  1800,  Victor  Gilbert 
bought  at  Croissy  a  four  year  old  ram  and  eight  ewes.  He  bred 
from  those  animals  during  a  period  of  ten  years,  occasionally,  how- 
ever, "  renewing  the  stock,"  as  he  termed  it,  by  purchasing  annu- 
ally from  two  to  four  sheep.  In  1821  he  purchased  some  of  the 
Rambouillet  stock,  and  asserts  that,  "  from  a  union  of  the  same, 
he  obtained  great  advantages."  Now,  the  reader  will  perceive 
that  there  was  an  alliance  of  blood.  The  two  flocks  were  of  the 
same  lineal  descent,  belonged  to  the  same  "  family,"  and  of  course 
the  system  of  breeding  was  on  the  in-and-in  principle. 

Now,  as  regards  French  Merinos  obtained  from  the  above 
source,  and  imported  into  this  country,  we  have  only  to  refer  the 
reader  to  Taintor,  of  Hartford  ;  DeForrest,  of  New  York ; 
Sanford,  of  Vermont;  Parker  and  Howard,  of  Ohio,  and 
many  others,  who  are  ready  and  willing,  we  presume,  to  testify  aa 
regards  the  prosperity  of  the  above  breed  in  this  country,  the  result 
of  in-and-in  breeding.  S.  W.  Jewett,  of  Vermont,  has  pur- 
chased, up  to  the  present  time,  over  three  hundred  bucks  and 
ewes,  the  offspring  of  the  Croissy  and  Rambouillet  breed,  and  this 
is  proof  positive  of  the  correctness  of  our  theory. 

Now,  as  regards  the  advantages  of  in-and-in  breeding,  what  are 
they?  When  Victor  Gilbert  purchased  the  first  ram,  he  car- 
ried but  9  pounds  of  wool ;  he  finally  realized  24  pounds  from  the 
rams,  and  from  the  ewes  18  pounds,  a  tangible  illustration  of  the 
advantages.  A  very  fine  French  Merino,  originating  from  the 
above  source,  was  very  recently  exhibited  at  a  sheep-shearing  in 
Wisconsin ;  the  animal  weighed  325  pounds,  and  carried  40  pounds 
of  wool.  Now,  the  originals,  as  I  have  already  shown,  carried 
but  9  pounds ;  so  that  the  standard,  as  regards  a  particular  quality, 
has  been  raised,  and  that  is  what  we  understand  by  "  improve- 
ment." 

Mr.  V.  Barford,  of  England,  has  demonstrated  the  propriety 
of  in-and-in  breeding.  He  is  a  man,  however,  of  superior  judg- 
ment, and  he  culls  and  casts  out  from  his  flocks  and  herds  all  ani- 
mals showing  the  least  predisposition  to  any  defect.  A  writer  in 
die  "  Mark  Lane  Express  "  considers  Mr.  Valentine  Barford 
one  of  the  most  successful  in-and-in  breeders  of  sheep  in  the  king- 


u 


310  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

dom ;  for  he  has  bred  from  the  pure  Blakewell  blood  for  sixty- 
five  years,  without  the  aid  of  any  other  sort  or  kind,  and  bred 
from  his  own  flock  for  upward  of  fifty  years,  maintaining  siz* 
weight,  and  constitution.  I  have  known  Mr.  Barford's  flock  for 
upward  of  half  a  century,  and  they  appear  as  strong  in  their 
stamina  as  when  I  first  saw  them.  Mr.  Barford  does  not  use  a 
ram  unless  he  has  a  wide  loin,  a  large  breast  and  collar,  and  very 
wide  between  the  forelegs,  all  of  which  points  denote  a  hale  con- 
stitution. Although  in-and-in  breeding  has  beat  thousands  to  a 
stand,  Mr.  Barford  still  shines  in  it." 

Therefore  I  contend  that  great  advantages  are  derived  from  pre- 
serving the  breed  pure  and  in  making  proper  selections.  I  have 
been  very  much  pleased  in  perusing  some  remarks  made  by  San- 
ford  Howard,  and  published  in  the  "  New  England  Farmer  f 
and,  as  they  happen  to  have  a  direct  bearing  on  our  subject,  I 
here  give  them: 

"  What  is  breeding  in-and-in  ?  While  some  apply  the  term 
only  to  animals  distantly  related,  he  conceived  the  only  true  idea 
of  the  matter  to  be  that  it  applied  to  creatures  of  the  same  blood. 
The  consequences  of  breeding  in-and-in,  he  believed,  might  be 
either  good  or  bad,  and  depended  wholly  on  the  skill  of  the 
breeder.  As  proof  that  breeding  in-and-in  was  not  contrary  to 
Nature,  he  referred  to  birds,  the  buffalo,  etc.,  in  a  wild  state.  It 
is  known  that  they  breed  in-and-in  constantly,  and  yet  no  deterio~ 
ration  takes  place.  He  had  known  geese  to  be  propagated  in  this 
way  for  forty  years,  and  not  the  slightest  depreciation  in  size, 
quality,  or  feather  was  visible  in  them.  Still  cases  could  be  cited 
where  breeding  in-and-in  had  produced  bad  results,  yet  these 
might  be  attributed  to  imperfections  in  the  parent  stock.  It  ia 
only  necessary  to  select  perfect  specimens." 

Having  now  attempted  to  show  that  in-and-in  breeding  is  in 
accordance  with  Nature,  and  that  the  birth  of  inferior  and  defect- 
ive animals,  under  this  rule,  resulted  from  the  breeder's  ignorance 
or  neglect  in  making  proper  selections,  I  shall  next  introduce  some 
remarks  of  a  general  character. 

Permanent  Varieties. — In-and-in  breeding  should  be  practiced 
in  view  of  some  specific  object;  namely,  perpetuating  species  capa- 
ble of  constantly  and  permanently  transmitting  characteristic  pecu- 
liarities, such  as  may  be  observed  in  any  particular  permanent 
variety.     As   an  illustration  of  the  same,  we  offer  the  French 


BREEDING,  AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SAME.  311 

Merino  sheep,  Black  Hawk  horse,  and  Devon  bull.  These  are 
permanent  varieties,  the  type  of  each  having  been  established  by 
a  long  course  of  in-and-in  breeding.  We  are  told,  however,  that 
many  of  the  imported  French  Merinos  (so  called)  have  produced 
offspring  scarcely  worth  the  trouble  of  raising — far  inferior  to  our 
common  native  stock.  The  principal  reason  is,  many  sub-races 
it*  Merinos,  existing  in  France  and  elsewhere,  are  the  result  of 
5! oss-breeding.  They  are  nothing  less  than  mongrels,  destitute 
of  that  permanency  of  type  indicative  of  pure  blood.  But  there 
are  other  causes  for  the  deterioration  complained  of,  which  will  be 
noticed  hereafter. 

By  preserving  the  race  pure  through  a  certain  period,  we  thus 
obtain  the  requisite  permanency  of  type,  which  can  then  be  trans- 
mitted indefinitely.  Let  us  see,  now,  if  we  understand  what  is 
meant  by  a  permanent  variety,  and  inquire  if  such  do  really  trans- 
mit their  permanent  peculiarities.  A  permanent  variety  (Black 
Hawk  breed,  or  Devon  cow,  for  example),  are  animals  whose  pe- 
culiarities were  not  coeval  with  the  tribe,  but  have  arisen,  or  been 
engrafted  on  the  same,  subsequent  to  the  advent  of  their  existence; 
and,  therefore,  what  some  may  term  distinct  species  are,  in  reality, 
nothing  more  than  permanent  varieties.  The  Shetland  pony, 
therefore,  is  a  permanent  variety.  Circumstances  have  made  him 
just  what  he  is.  He,  being  an  inhabitant  of  a  stormy,  tempestu- 
ous region,  comparatively  destitute  of  shelter  and  artificial  food,  is 
left,  in  many  instances,  like  the  cattle  of  Norway,  (whose  diminu- 
tive size  is  notorious,)  to  seek  such  food  as  the  county  affords  ;  and, 
owing  to  their  being  secluded  from  other  horses,  frequent  inter- 
course among  themselves  have  rendered  their  small  and  peculiar 
forms  permanent  in  the  race  ;  and,  with  unerring  precision,  "  like 
begets  like." 

The  permanent  varieties  that  now  exist  among  the  cattle  of  the 
British  Isles  is  due  to  local  circumstances  and  the  art  of  man. 
Most  of  the  fine  breeds  now  owned  by  English  husbandmen  are 
named  after  the  location  '  in  which  they  are  said  to  originate. 
These  are  permanent  varieties,  yet  the  most  of  them  (in  fact  all, 
except  importations)  are  descendants  of  the  "Wild  or  White 
Forest  breed."  Hence  the  Highland  breed,  dispersed  over  the 
mountains  of  North  Britain;  the  Alderney,  of  the  Norman  Isles; 
Rnd  the  Devon,  from  the  Bristol  Channel,  etc.,  are  all  permanent 
varieties,   origmallv  of  the  White  Forest   breed.     Yorkshire  is 


312  DABD'S  VETERINARY   MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

celebrated  for  the  production  of  a  permanent  variety  of  horse? 
Known  as  "  Clevelands."  They  are  an  ancient  and  unmixed  race. 
Their  bodies  have  peculiar  markings,  and  if  a  foal  should  be  born 
without  them,  the  owner  would  give  orders  for  its  immediate 
destruction.  I  presume  it  is  now  understood  what  is  meant  by 
permanent  variety. 

Animals  become  Parents  too  early. 

Victor  Gilbert  never  allowed  ewes  to  have  lambs  until  they 
had  passed  their  third  year,  and  the  bucks  were  never  used  until 
they  had  arrived  at  full  maturity.  He,  as  well  as  many  other 
sagacious  stock-raisers  that  I  might  name,  are  probably  conver- 
sant with  the  fact  that,  during  the  period  of  growth  and  develop- 
ment up  to  maturity,  the  reproductive  organs  are  dormant,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  the  nutritive  function  was  wholly  engaged  in 
elaborating  chyle  and  blood  for  the  development  of  bone,  muscle, 
and  nerve ;  and  that  by  calling  into  requisition  the  reproductive 
or  generative  organs  before  the  animal  had  attained  full  growth, 
must  necessarily  divert  the  elements  of  matter  intended  for  nutri- 
tion from  their  legitimate  channel,  and  direct  them  to  the  repro- 
ductive organs.  This  is  precisely  what  takes  place.  A  too  early 
use  of  the  purely  animal  functions  induces  weakness  and  stunted 
growth. 

The  author  remembers  that,  in  his  school-boy  days,  it  was  cus- 
tomary, so  soon  as  a  boy  had  accumulated  a  few  pence,  to  invest 
the  same  in  a  rabbit  (a  favorite  animal  at  that  period) ;  conse- 
quently we  had  a  community  of  juvenile  rabbit-raisers;  and  from 
the  results  of  past  experience,  as  observed  by  the  older  boys,  a  rule 
was  adopted  among  us  that  the  doe  should  not  be  put  to  the  buck 
until  she  had  attained  full  maturity.  The  reason  assigned  for  this 
rule  was,  "  Early  breeding  prevented  the  doe  from  growing."  Tho 
facts  were  evident;  still  we  knew  not  the  why  nor  wherefore,  tut 
acted  on  the  spur  of  experience.  Physiologists  have  assigned  the 
above  as  the  true  cause,  and  have,  in  their  writings,  pointed  out 
the  woeful  results  which  often  follow  a  too  early  use  of  the  purely 
animal  functions  and  organs.  I  seriously  urge  farmers  to  give 
this  subject  that  attention  which  it  evidently  demands.  By  so 
doing  they  will  prevent  many  of  the  unnecessary  abortions  which 
are  almo.<?+   constantly  occurring.     Among  the   higher  orders  of 


BREEDING,  AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SAME.  313 

titration  die  same  law  holds  good.  In  fact,  there  can  be  no  devi- 
ation from  it  without  incurring  the  hazard  of  paying  the  penalty. 

Heifers  should  never  be  put  to  the  bull  until  they  have  attained 
the  age  of  three  or  four  years.  At  this  period  they  are  in  their 
prime.  If  they  happen  to  have  acquired  too  much  fat,  their  daily 
allowance  must  be  reduced. 

Human  growth,  according  to  the  best  authority,  ceases  between 
the  ages  of  twenty  and  twenty-five.  In  very  warm  regions,  how- 
ever, where  development  and  decay  are  universally  allowed  to  be 
more  rapid,  the  inhabitants  come  to  maturity  much  earlier.  A 
superior  class  of  human  beings  can  only  be  produced  by  selections 
and  exclusions  similar  to  those  so  successfully  employed  in  rear- 
ing the  inferior  orders.  We  may  rejoice  in  a  Fulton,  Franklin, 
or  Webster  occasionally,  (by  mere  accident,)  the  parents  of  such 
being  absolutely  ignorant  of  the  first  principles  of  physiology; 
but,  in  the  breeder's  language,  such  are  in  possession  of  the  "  pre- 
requisites." In  the  first  place,  they  had  not  entered  the  marriage 
relationship  prior  to  the  age  of  reason.  The  parents,  if  we  mis- 
take not,  were  full-grown  men  and  women,  not  boys  nor  girls. 
They  possibly  possessed  a  sound  mind  and  healthy  constitution,- 
free  from  hereditary  defect  of  mind  and  body,  which  stunted 
growth,  aided  by  artificial  modes  of  life,  are  almost  sure  to  entail. 
Until  within  a  few  years,  a  wise  and  salutary  law  was  in  oper- 
ation in  the  British  Isles  which  interdicted  marriage  until  the 
candidates  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  That  law  has 
been  set  aside,  and,  consequently,  the  mass  of  the  population  of 
the  present  day  will  not  bear  comparison  with  that  of  the  past. 

One  safeguard,  therefore,  against  stunted  growth  and  ill-health 
is  to  avoid  a  too  early  use  of  the  reproductive  function.  And  here- 
in we  are  not  safe  unless  proper  selections  have  been  made,  and 
faulty  animals  or  persons  rejected.  I  am  persuaded  that  if  hus- 
bandmen of  these  United  States  could  all  view  this  important 
matter  in  its  right  light,  a  very  decided  improvement  would  soon 
be  the  result.  The  subject  will,  however,  eventually  command 
the  attention  of  all. 

Many  persons  urge  that  the  offspring  of  blood  relatives  are 
weak,  nervous,  deficient  in  intellect,  complete  idiots,  etc.,  and 
that  further  intercourse  in  the  same  direction  only  makes  bad 
worse.  These  arc  facts  which  can  not  be  controverted,  yet  the 
weakness,  nervousness,  etc.,  does  not  occur  from  the  relationship 


314  DADDS  VETERINARY   MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

which  exists  between  the  parties,  but  is  the  result  of  their  defec- 
tive constitutions.  Many  of  the  cousin-marriages  are  entered  into 
without  the  least  regard  to  the  rational  theory  of  selection  and 
rejection.  The  question  is  one  of  interest,  not  of  utility.  These 
blood  connections  are  consummated  merely  to  retain  property  in 
families,  and  to  satisfy  the  caprices  of  doting  parents,  superannu- 
ated uncles,  and  disappointed  maiden  aunts ;  and  thus  many  an 
idiotic  or  emaciated  sprig  of  aristocracy  unites  his  destinies  with  a 
fashionable  cousin  the  very  counterpart  of  himself,  both  inherit- 
ing family  defects  of  precisely  similar  character.  Should  they  be 
blessed  (cursed,  rather)  with  offspring,  may  we  not  expect  a  min- 
iature of  the  originals?  "  Without  due  attention  to  avoiding  dis- 
ease, it  will  increase  in  the  progeny." 

Among  the  human  species,  therefore,  where  the  objects  are  of 
6uch  immense  importance  to  present  and  future  generations,  the 
principles  of  selection  and  rejection  are  entirely  overlooked.  We 
pay  more  attention  to  the  principles  of  breeding  in  cattle  than  we 
do  to  those  applicable  also  to  their  lord  and  master.  Hence  the 
faults  and  defects  alluded  to  are  not  the  result  of  close  affinities, 
but  result  from  our  indifference  or  ignorance  of  the  laws  of  life. 

Objections  to  In-and-in  Brfedlng  Answered. 

The  two  preceding  paragraphs  are  biief  answers  to  the  objec- 
tions against  the  sexual  congress  of  blood-relations ;  yet,  as  .other 
evidence  than  my  own,  and  of  a  more  general  character,  may  be 
demanded  by  the  reader,  I  have  thought  it  best  to  introduce  other 
testimony.  The  following  quotations  are  from  the  pen  of  P.  S. 
Humbrickson,  of  Ohio,  published  as  a  "Prize  Essay  :  " 

"Many  object  to  what  has  been  termed  in-and-in  breeding. 
Indeed,  with  most  of  those  who  do  so,  theii  objections  assume 
the  form  of  a  very  strong  prejudice.  This  is  attributable  to  a 
certain  confusion  in  their  minds,  by  which  reasons,  wherein  there 
is  no  proper  connection,  are  made,  with  the  aid  of  imagination,  to 
assume  a  form  of  mutual  dependence  and  coherence  in  support  of 
their  theory.  In  the  human  family,  marriages  within  the  Levitical 
degree,  or,  as  they  are  also  called,  incestuous  marriages,  are  for- 
bidden. But  the  prohibition  rests  exclusively  upon  morel,  and 
not  at  all  upon  natural  or  physical  reasons ;  yet  the  direct  phys- 
ical calamities  are  imagined  to  pursue  the  infringement  cf  tJ»at  k* 


BREEDING,  AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SAME.  315 

Now,  it  would  seem  that  where  the  moral  reasons  in  favor  of  an 
enactment  are  sufficient  not  only  to  justify  but  to  demand  it,  no 
more  should  be  required.  And  this  is  in  accordance  with  the 
soundest  rules  of  philosophizing.  Moreover,  if  no  such  moral 
reason  existed,  the  authority  of  the  Lawgiver,  in  the  case  of  the 
divine  law,  is  a  sufficient  foundation  and  warrant  for  it ;  and  the 
human  law  is  bound  by  and  but  follows  the  divine.  Shall  we, 
(hen,  take  the  step  beyond,  and  apply  to  the  inferior  animal  the 
rule  that  was  intended  for  rational,  accountable  man  ?  We  know 
that,  if  left  to  his  own  observation  and  experience,  and  being  him- 
self the  judge,  the  objector  must  avouch  the  fact  that,  in  the  state 
of  Nature,  there  is  no  restraint,  and  that  such  connections  are  and 
must  be  continually  taking  place. 

The  Advantages  of  In-and-in  Breeding. 

"  And  if  there  are  advantages  arising  from  the  having  placed  in 
the  line  of  the  direct  ancestry,  near  and  remote,  of  our  flocks,  a 
great  number  of  approved  individuals,  both  male  and  female,  as 
has  been  seen,  it  follows  that  there  must  be  far  greater  advantages 
arising  from  the  having  the  same  one  individual  (if  he  be  of  marked 
superiority)  placed  in  that  line  the  greatest  possible  number  of 
times.  This  is  done  by  in-and-in  breeding,  and  is  the  object  of  it. 
Now,  it  is  easier  to  find  this  one  unsurpassed  individual  than  to 
find  many ;  for  in  the  many  there  will,  most  certainly,  be  one  to 
be  preferred  to  all  the  rest.  Then,  under  the  operation  or  the 
principle  of  atavism,  the  chances  that  the  resemblance  of  such  un- 
equaled  ancestor  will  be  obtained  must  be  in  the  ratio  of  the 
number  of  times  that  he  occurs  in  the  ascending  lines;  hence 
greater  uniformity  and  greater  excellence  in  all  the  progeny. 
An  apt  illustration  of  this  is  found  in  the  frequent  occurrence  of 
the  Godolphin  Arabian,  in  the  pedigrees  of  all  our  best  blooded 
horses,  carried  back  to  him  as  their  founder." 

In  conclusion,  the  author  offers  the  following,  in  view  not  onlf 
of  benefiting  the  horse,  but  his  owner  also. 

The  Importance  of  Studying  Anatomy  and  Physiology. 

There  is  an  aphorism  which  is  said  to  have  emanated  from  a 
Divine  source,  and  it  appeals  to  the  intelligence  of  this  enlightened 


316  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

and  progressive  generation  with  peculiar  force.  It  is,  "  Know 
thyself."  To  understand  our  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical 
natures  and  tendencies  should  be  the  business  of  every  one.  The 
cultivation  of,  and  proper  direction  given  to,  the  former,  bring  us 
within  the  hale  of  health,  purity,  and  peace.  A  knowledge  of  the 
physical  or  physiological  laws  of  life,  and  in  practicing  fidelity  to 
what  they  teach,  places  us  on  the  high  road  to  health  and  long  life. 
Anatomical  and  physiological  acquirements  are  needed  by  every 
one,  in  order  that  we  may  know  ourselves,  and  thus  be  able  to 
preserve  our  wondrous  mechanism,  "the  harp  of  a  thousand 
strings,"  in  its  normal  condition;  for  without  health  we  can  not 
enjoy  life,  nor  answer  the  purposes  for  which  we  were  created. 

We  have  the  testimony  of  learned  men,  and  our  own  reflective 
minds  confirm  the  facts,  that  an  alarming  number  of  premature 
deaths,  and  an  untold  amount  of  physical  infirmities,  are  the  result 
of  either  our  ignorance  of,  or  indifference  to,  the  uncompromising 
laws  of  Nature.  The  rational  being,  free  from  hereditary  taint, 
of  mental  or  physical  deformities,  comes  into  the  world  with  all 
that  is  essential  to  his  future  life  and  happiness.  He  has  within 
his  organization  a  radiant  volume  of  intellectuality,  organized, 
compiled,  and  bound  by  the  Divine  hand,  the  first  glimmer  of 
which  reveals  something  adapted  to  present  and  future  wants  and 
necessities.  The  intellectual  spark,  once  ignited,  is  capable  of  an 
endless  increase.  We  can  add  ray  to  ray,  power  on  power,  until 
the  God-like  man  acquires  the  mental  greatness  of  a  Webster,  or 
the  mechanical  skill  and  distinction  of  a  Fulton.  We  do  not 
expect  that  all  can  become  Websters  and  Fultons,  because  we  do 
not  all  practice  that  invariable  perseverance  and  stern  energy 
characteristic  of  giant  intellect  and  mechanical  skill.  We  are  not 
all  willing  to  toil,  mentally  or  physically,  with  that  perseverance 
and  industry  so  necessary  to  success;  and  if  we  were  willing,  after 
having  attained  maturity  or  manhood,  our  minds  and  bodies  being 
trained  and  molded  for  station  and  circumstances,  are  then  not  so 
well  adapted,  as  in  youth,  for  increase  and  power.  Still,  at  this 
period  of  life,  we  are  not  destitute  of  the  means  of  self-culture. 

We  are  living  illustrations  of  progressive  mental  capacities 
which  often  transpire  in  men  past  the  meridian  of  life,  who. 
before  that  period,  never  considered  themselves  favored  in  this 
line.  How  unfortunate  it  is,  therefore,  that  the  generality  of 
mankind  should  be  so  indifferent  about  the  science  of  life,  and  bo 


BREEDING,  AND  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  THE  SAME.  317 

bo  slow  in  making  it  the  basis  of  rational  action  in  warding  off 
disease,  and  in  promoting  the  integrity  of  their  existence !  The 
reason  is,  our  education  is  incomplete.  We  are  all  that  Nature 
intended  in  elementary  ability,  and  only  deficient  in  Its  use. 
The  means  are  anatomical  and  physiological  studies ;  the  time  is 
in  youth,  when  the  mind  is  pliant,  capable  of  receiving  permanent 
impressions.  The  place  for  the  engrafting  of  the  same  is  in  our 
common  schools  and  at  the  fireside,  the  mother  and  the  teacher 
wielding  a  common  scepter  of  instruction. 

Some  people  do  not  realize  that  our  organizations  are  the  result 
uf  the  most  positive  laws  of  Nature,  and  that  our  ailments  are  the 
result  of  our  own  ignorance  or  folly.  The  mass  of  mankind  are 
not  aware  that  our  physical  systems  are  capable  of  improvement 
analagous  to  the  mental.  No ;  they  generally  think  and  act  on 
the  false  and  ruinous  proposition  that  our  diseases,  aches,  and 
pains  are  so  woven  into  the  filamentary  mechanism  of  the  living 
citadel  as  to  be  beyond  the  power  of  either  art  or  science  to  eradi- 
cate— a  proposition  that  should  never,  for  a  moment,  be  enter- 
tained ;  for,  if  we  live  right  up  to  the  laws  of  life,  we  are  then 
within  the  impregnable  ramparts  of  physiology,  where  our  ac-. 
quired  and  fashionable  maladies  can  not  obtain. 

Within  the  bulwarks  of  physiology  certain  conditions  are  im- 
posed upon  us,  and  we  must  observe  them.  For  example,  we 
require  a  pure  atmosphere,  at  all  times,  to  vitalize  the  blood,  and 
thus  deprive  it  of  those  defiling  elements  acquired  by  venous  blood, 
and  which  would  otherwise  operate,  as  they  often  do,  in  our 
crowded  assemblies  and  un ventilated  sleeping-rooms,  as  the  germs 
to  excite  unnecessary  disease.  Next,  the  body  should  be  kept  erect, 
so  that  the  muscles  and  organs  may  acquire  and  maintain  natural 
action.  We  require  vigorous  daily  exercise  of  all  the  muscles  of 
voluntary  motion ;  freedom  from  all  compression  by  dress ;  apparel 
that  shall  afford  needed  protection ;  a  quantity  of  food  and  drink, 
at  intervals,  that  shall  furnish  materials  for  the  wants  of  our  sys- 
tems, and  that  control  of  feeling  which  enlightened  reason  and 
virtue  demand.  Our  time  should  be  distributed  into  daily  periods 
of  labor,  rest,  and  amusement ;  and,  above  all,  we  must  bear  in 
mind  that  infirmity  wedded  to  infirmity  is  a  sin  against  our  na- 
ture— a  wanton  violation  of  the  law  of  Nature  and  of  our  existence, 
to  which  a  fearful  penalty  is  appended,  even  unto  the  "  third  and 
fourtli  generations." 


318  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

The  faithful  observance  of  the  physiological  laws  of  Nature  re- 
sult in  health  and  strength,  and  promote  longevity.  Such  is  the 
fruit  which  the  tree  of  knowledge  beareth.  The  non-observanct- 
of  these  laws  of  life  places  us  on  a  par  with  the  poor  idiot,  whei> 
sporting  with  the  implements  of  self-destruction,  and  furnishes  to 
us  the  forbidden  fruit.  Health  depends  entirely  on  the  use  which 
we  make  of  the  various  organs  and  functions  of  the  body.  Health 
never  comes  to  us  or  our  live  stock  by  virtue  of  good  luck.  None 
are  healthy  by  special  Providence  or  Divine  favor.  Neither  can 
health  be  found  in  the  popular  nostrums  of  the  day  on  the  proceeds 
of  which  quacks  grow  fat  and  wealthy,  and  patients  often  be- 
come poverty-stricken,  and  finally  sink  into  the  arms  of  Death,  in 
blissful  ignorance  of  what  brought  them  there.  Much  of  what  is 
here  written  is  equally  true  regarding  horses  and  cattle.  Many  of 
their  diseases  spring  from  the  same  causes  which  are  operative  on 
the  human  subject;  hence,  knowledge  of  the  above  description  i« 
what  all  interested  should  seek  after. 


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SfpiSl 

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S^  "SwlEs 

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SBj*si5^Skfift 

SECTION  XII. 

LAMENESS    FROM    VARIOUS    CAUSES. 

Curbs — Elbow  Tumor — Capped  Hock — Varix,  or  Boo  Spavin — Atrophy,  oi 
Wasting  of  Muscles — Thorough-pin — Navicular  Disease,  or  Lameness — 
Pleuro-dynia  —  Acute  Rheumatism  —  Chronic  Rheumatism — Ring-bone — 
Splint — Spavin — Osteo  Porosis — Curvature  of  the  Spine — Hoof-bound — 
Laminitis — Sandcrack — Quarter  Crack — Navicular  Thritis — Stifle  Out 
— Contraction  of  the  Hoof — Bowed  Legs — Corns — Lameness. 

Curbs. 

CURB  consists  of  sprain  of  the  posterior  ligament  of  the  hock, 
known  as  the  calcaneo-cuboid  ligament.  It  is  thus  named 
in  consequence  of  being  inserted  into  the  oscalcis  and  cuboid  bones. 
The  tumefaction  is  usually  confined  to  the  skin  and  subcellular 
tissue.  At  first  the  part  is  hot  and  painful,  and  the  animal  is 
lame — does  not  flex  the  hock  in  a  natural  manner;  yet,  when 
standing  still,  the  horse  keeps  the  lower  part  of  the  limb  flexed, 
so  as  to  relieve  the  overstrained  tendon.  The  liability  or  predis- 
position to  the  disease  lurks  in  breed.  Such  horses  are  observed 
to  have  ill-shaped  hocks.  Such  have  been  denominated  "cow- 
hocks."  The  parts  are  not  symmetrical.  There  is  an  obvious 
disproportion  between  the  width  of  the  parts  above  and  below  the 
hock,  which  gives  it  an  angular  appearance ;  and  the  more  angu- 
larity there  is,  the  more  liability  is  there  to  sprain,  because  there 
w  too  much  tension  on  the  calcaneo-cuboid  ligament. 

Causes. — The  exciting  causes  of  curb  are  sprain,  occurring  in 
the  act  of  backing  a  heavy  load,  or  in  leaping;  in  short  the  per- 
formance of  any  feat  that  violently  calls  into  play  the  flexor 
muscles  and  tendons  of  the  hind  extremities;  hence  stallions  with 
faulty  hocks,  when  used  for  procreation,  are  very  apt  to  become 
the  subject  of  curb. 

(319) 


320  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


I 

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Explanation. 

1  1.  Curbs,  or  enlargement  in  the  region  of  the  back  or  posterior  part  of  the  hoek,  an  affec- 
tion known  to  veterinarians  as  sprain  of  the  calcaneo-euboid  ligament. 

2.  Elbow  tumor,  or  enlargement  at  the  point  of  the  elbow.  The  point  of  Ihe  elbow  correa- 
ponds  to  the  olecranon  of  man. 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES  321 

Treatment. — So  soon  as  the  injury  is  discovered,  the  part  should 
be  fomented  often  with  either  an  infusion  of  hops  or  poppy- 
heads.  It  is  best  to  apply  the  infusion  cold,  and  by  means  of  a 
sponge,  the  animal  being  kept  at  rest  during  the  acute  stage. 
Sometimes,  in  view  of  relieving  the  tension  of  the  sprained  liga- 
ment, it  is  customary  to  tack  on  a  high-heeled  shoe.  This  may 
or  may  not  be  necessary,  and  depends  on  the  severity  of  the  case. 
After  having  modified  the  inflammatory  action,  the  high-heeled 
shoe  may  be  dispensed  with.  Then,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the 
chronic  enlargement,  the  part  must  be  daily  anointed,  for  a  short 
time,  with  a  portion  of  the  following  : 

No.  45.  Powdered  iodine 1  dr. 

Simple  ointment 7  dr. 

Mix. 

After  a  short  time,  the  animal  may  be  put  to  light  work,  still 
making  an  occasional  application  of  the  iodine  ointment. 

Should  the  parts  about  the  hock  degenerate  into  a  hard  callous, 
friction  with  cod-liver  oil  may  be  employed.  Should  this  fail  to 
have  the  desired  effect,  then  make  a  few  applications  of  the  acetate 
of  cantharides,  prepared  as  follows : 

No.  46.  Acetic  acid  (flu4d) 1  oz. 

Water 5  oz. 

Powdered  cantharides 1  dr. 

Mix. 


Elbow  Ttjmob. 

Elbow  tumor  (see  cut  on  preceding  page,  fig.  2,)  is  usually  re- 
cognized as  "capped  elbow."  It  sometimes  grows  to  an  enor- 
mous size,  and  not  only  becomes  unsightly,  but  seriously  interferes 
with  the  action  of  the  elbow  and  its  articulation.  At  first,  the 
part  is  hot,  inflamed,  and  tender.  Soon  effusion  takes  place; 
then  the  part  is  soft  and  fluctuating ;  next,  albumen  is  deposited, 
and  this,  finally,  is  metamorphosed  into  fibrine,  at  which  stage -the 
tumor  is  large  and  dense ;  the  walls  of  the  skin  are  also  very  much 
thickened  ;  in  fact,  when  dissecting  out  the  tumor,  it  appears  that 
the  skin  is  in  a  state  of  hypertrophy,  or  morbid  growth.  How- 
ever, there  is  usually  a  central  orifice  in  the  tumor  which  seems 
to  indicate  that  the  first  trouble  originated  in  a  bursal  sac,  from 
external  injury,  either  by  the  calking  of  the  shoe  or  the  toe  of  the 
21 


322  DADDS   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

hind  foot;  or  it  may  arise  from  a  bruise  inflicted  in  the  act  of 
lying  down  on  a  hard  floor. 

Treatment. — In  the  early  stage,  and  when  there  is  nothing  but 
fluid  in  the  sac,  an  opening  should  be  made  into  the  lower  part  of 
it,  by  means  of  a  thumb  lancet.  After  the  fluid  has  been  evacu- 
ated, by  pressure,  inject  into  it  an  astringent,  composed  of  pyrolig- 
neous  acid  and  water,  equal  parts;  and  rub  the  exterior  of  the 
tumor,  twice  daily,  with  a  small  quantity  of  cod-liver  oil.  The 
cod-liver-oil  will  act  as  a  glandular  stimulant,  and  thus  aid  in  the 
absorption  of  the  tumor.  A  seton,  inserted  through  the  tumor, 
sometimes  has  a  very  good  effect ;  but  if  the  tumor  be  large  and 
unsightly,  the  services  of  a  surgeon  will  be  required  for  its  removal, 
by  means  of  the  scalpel. 

Capped  Hock. 

Capped  hock  consists  of  tumefaction,  or  enlargement  at  the 
point  of  the  hock.  Occurring,  as  it  does,  at  a  very  prominent 
and  exposed  part  of  the  limb,  it  is  almost  sure  to  attract  notice ; 
hence  is  not  only  an  eye-sore,  but  a  serious  defect,  and,  if  accom- 
panied by  lameness,  the  animal  may  be  pronounced  unsound, 
during  the  period  of  lameness.  The  tumor  is  the  result  of  enlarge- 
ment of  a  synovial  sac  which  lies  between  the  bone  and  the  tendon 
gastrocnemii.  This  sac  contains  synovia,  and  it  is  furnished  for 
the  purpose  of  lubricating  the  parts  for  the  prevention  of  friction. 
The  skin,  also,  becomes  thickened,  or,  rather,  is  in  a  state  of  hy- 
pertrophy (morbid  growth),  which  add  largely  to  the  size  of  the 
tumor. 

Causes. — Capped  hock  is  generally  produced  by  a  blow  or 
bruise.  It  is  almost  always  occasioned  by  the  whiffle-tree  coming 
in  contact  with  the  parts.  The  animal  may,  however,  injure  the 
parts  in  the  act  of  kicking.  The  parts  may  also  be  bruised  in  the 
act  of  lying  down  or  rising  in  the  stall.  Therefore,  not  knowing 
any  other  cause  for  capped  hock,  we  may  safely  infer  that  it  is  the 
result  of  external  injury. 

Treatment. — In  the  early  or  inflammatory  stage,  refrigerati  ;g 
lotions  are  indicated.     Take  of 

No.  47.  Sal  ammonia 1  oz. 

Nitrate  of  potass 1  oz. 

Water 1   pint. 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  328 

Sponge  the  part  quite  often,  for  a  day  or  two,  until  the  heat  and 
attendant  pain  subsides;  after  which  the  affection  will  run  on  to 
the  chronic  stage,  and  perhaps  acquire  magnitude ;  then  the  treat- 
ment must  be  altered.  The  object  now  is  to  excite  absorption. 
In  that  view,  I  recommend  the  following : 

No    18.  Powdered  iodide  of  potass 2     dr. 

Yellow  basilicon 1£  oz. 

Mix. 

Apply  a  portion  of  this  ointment  to  the  enlargement,  morning 
and  evening. 

Varix  (known  as  Boo  Spavin). 

Varix,  or  "  bog  spavin,"  consists  of  an  enlargement  on  the  in- 
side of  the  hock,  corresponding  to  a  disease  of  the  same  character 
in  the  human  subject  known  as  varicose  veins.  It  very  rarely 
produces  lameness,  and  most  writers  contend  that  it  is  nothing 
more  than  an  eye-sore.  Be  this  as  it  may,  it  is  a  defect,  and,  in 
the  tye  of  the  law,  constitutes  unsoundness,  simply  from  the  fact 
that  soundness  consists  in  perfection  of  function  and  structure,  and, 
also,  because  sound  horses  do  not  have  defects  of  this  character. 
The  enlargement  does  not  generally  impair  the  usefulness  of  the 
animal  for  ordinary  work ;  yet  sometimes,  in  consequence  of  over- 
work or  sprain,  the  tumor  acquires  magnitude. 

It  is  always  dangerous  to  attempt  to  remove  varix,  or  to  punc- 
ture it ;  and  the  only  proper  method  of  treatment,  in  view  of  lim- 
iting its  growth,  for  it  can  not  be  cured,  is  to  bathe  it  often  with 
the  following  astringent  lotion  : 

No.  49.  Fluid  extract  of  witch-hazel 2  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  bayberry  bark 4  oz. 

Proof  spirit 1  pint. 

Mix. 

Bog  spavin  is  an  indication  of  weak  and  faulty  hocks,  unless  it 
can  be  shown  that  the  animal  has  been  made  to  labor  too  early  in 
life,  or  has  performed  excessive  work  beyond  his  capacity.  Then 
the  affection  can  be  accounted  for,  and  may  not  owe  its  origin  to 
either  fault  or  defect. 


324 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


Atrophy,  or  Wasting  of  Muscles  in  the  Region  of 
the  Shoulder-blade,  (known  as  Sweeny.) 

Atrophy  signifies  wasting  of  muscles,  in  which  diseased  parts 
become  notably  smaller  than  those  of  the  natural,  without  other 
alteration  in  texture.  The  author  has  had  several  opportunities 
of  examining  horses  that  have  died  in  consequence  of  disease  or 
old  age,  who,  during  life,  were  the  subjects  of  what  is  known  as 
sweeny,  and  found  that  the  muscles  of  the  shoulder  had  quite  a 
pale  appearance,  somewhat  resembling  those  of  a  calf  which  had 
been  bled  to  death.  A  condensation  or  wasting  of  muscular  fiber 
was  very  apparent;  the  cellular  membrane  under  the  skin  had 
almost  disappeared,  merely  by  condensation  and  contraction  of  the 
skin  over  the  region  of  the  parts,  which  contraction  occurs  in  con- 
sequence of  shrinkage  of  the  muscles  beneath  the  skin. 


A  FOUNDERED  OB   DEAD   LAME  HORSE.      (See  p.  S3fi.) 


Causes. — As  regards  the  cause  of  atrophy,  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  inaction  of  a  muscle  produces  a  notable  decrease  in  size. 
The  muscles  of  laboring  men  decrease  in  size  whenever,  from 
choice  or  necessity,  the  individual  leads  a  sedentary  life.  A  limb 
kept  at  rest  for  any  length  of  time  undergoes  more  or  less  atrophy 
(wasting).  In  some  cases,  the  foot  diseases,  so  common,  are  of 
that  character  as  to  cause  the  subjects  much  pain  in  progression ; 


LAMENESS,  FROM  NARIOUS  CAUSES.  325 

and,  in  order  to  relieve  the  feet,  the  horse  spares  the  muscles,  which, 
for  want  of  free  and  full  action,  leads  to  diminished  nutrition  and 
wasting  (atrophy).  Some  of  the  readers  of  this  work  must  have 
noticed  the  fact  of  the  shrinking  of  the  muscles  of  the  haunch  in 
case  of  disease  or  severe  lameness  of  one  of  the  hind  feet.  This 
shrinkage  often  occurs,  as  in  the  case  of  the  shoulder,  from  want 
of  natural  action  and  full  play  of  the  muscles  concerned.  We 
have  ample  proof  that  wasting  is  the  result  of  want  of  action,  in 
the  fact  that  when  a  horse  becomes  the  subject  of  a  painful  disease 
in  the  hind  foot,  he  neither  advances  nor  rotates  the  limb  any 
more  than  he  can  possibly  help,  but  holds  the  foot  up,  sometimes 
points  it.  On  examination,  the  atrophy,  or  wasting,  is  confined  to 
the  muscles  which  perform  these  two  actions ;  and  in  the  case  of 
pain  or  lameness  in  one  of  the  fore-feet,  the  same  faulty  action  is 
observable,  and  the  same  class  of  muscles  (whose  action  is  almost 
identical  with  that  of  the  hind  parts)  are  the  ones  affected. 

The  author  deems  it  of  great  importance  that  husbandmen 
should  fully  understand  this  subject ;  for  it  will  enable  them  to 
perceive  that,  while  inflating  horses'  shoulders  with  a  quill,  or 
practicing  any  other  absurd  treatment  in  the  vicinity  of  the  wasted 
or  sweenied  shoulder,  they  are  overlooking  the  real  malady  (in 
the  foot),  and  at  best  are  only  treating  symptoms.  On  careful 
examination,  however,  should  it  appear  that  the  patient  is  free 
from  any  disorder  of  the  foot  or  feet,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
clearly  evident  that  myositis  or  myalgia  (muscular  pain)  exists, 
then  the  treatment  must  be  directed  to  the  affected  parts.  The 
facts  in  either  case  can  only  be  determined  by  a  competent  practi 
tioner. 

The  author  has  often  noticed  that  when  horses  have  been  over- 
driven or  overworked,  they  become  stiff  and  lame  in  those  parts 
of  the  body  most  susceptible  to  the  ordinary  influences.  For 
example,  one  horse  may  perform  a  long  journey,  with  a  weighty 
man  on  his  back,  and  the  next  day  show  symptoms  of  lameness 
in  the  lumbar  region.  His  back  is  arched ;  the  limbs  are  brought 
under  the  center  of  the  body,  and  every  movement  indicates  that 
the  animal  suffers  tormenting  pains,  which  are  located  in  the  mus- 
cles of  the  back.  This  is  myositis,  or  inflammation  of  the  muscular 
fiber.  Sometimes,  however,  the  malady  constitutes  myalgia  (mus- 
eular  pain  and  spasm),  unaccompanied  by  inflammatory  action. 
Another  horse  may  be  put   to  a  similar  kind  of  work,  and,  in  • 


326  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

few  hours  afterward,  be  found  stiff  and  lame.  But  the  symptoms- 
are  not  the  same  as  those  just  recorded.  The  pathology  is  proba- 
bly identical ;  it  is  the  same  disease,  only  it  has  a  different  locality. 
It  i«  myositis  of  the  pectoral  muscles,  involving,  also,  the  muscles 
of  the  shoulder-blades.  And  the  intelligent  owner  of  the  afflicted 
animal  will  notice  that  the  fore  extremities  are  unnaturally  ad- 
vanced ;  the  foreparts  of  the  body  are  unnaturally  hot  and  tender  j 
the  fore-feet  are  feverish,  and  the  hoofs  are  hotter  still.  The  ad- 
\  anced  position  of  the  fore  extremities  and  shoulders  gives  a  very 
marked  hollowness  to  the  forepart  of  the  chest,  and  many  men, 
on  seeing  such  a  case,  would  declare  that  the  animal  was  chest- 
foundered,  this  being  the  name  which  is  sometimes  given  to  such 
a  condition ;  but  it  is  really  owing  to  myalgia  (muscular  pain  and 
stiffness). 

It  is  well-known  that  all  muscles  are  subject  to  inflammatory 
action  and  muscular  pain  from  work  disproportionate  to  their 
strength.  For  example,  let  any  man  undertake  to  saw  wood, 
practice  with  heavy  dumb-bells,  or  ride  on  a  horse — feats  that  he 
has  never  been  accustomed  to — and,  whether  the  labor  be  excessive 
or  not,  the  individual  will  shortly  complain  of  more  or  less  mus- 
cular pain ;  and  if  he  be  a  weak  man,  the  more  excessive  will  be 
that  pain.  Now,  the  muscles  of  the  horse,  being  just  as  suscepti- 
ble to  pain  as  those  of  man,  are  just  as  easily  operated  on  through 
the  well-known  exciting  causes. 

Symptoms. — In  the  case  of  a  horse,  when  the  work  has  been  ex- 
cessive, and  of  a  character  to  bring  the  muscles  of  the  shoulders, 
their  tendons  and  coverings,  into  a  state  of  over-exertion,  it  will 
often  be  found  that  some  of  the  muscular  fibers  in  the  region  of  the 
shoulder  are  fractured,  small  blood-vessels  are  ruptured,  and  other 
pathological  changes  take  place.  This  is  followed  by  inflammation 
^myositis) .  Suppose,  therefore,  a  horse  shows  symptoms  of  myo- 
sitis after  excessive  work,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days,  it  is 
noticed  that  the  muscles  of  his  shoulders  are  wasting  away,  and 
continue  to  waste,  so  that  all  persons  who  examine  the  animal 
pronounce  him  sweenied,  we  may  then  infer  that  the  wasting 
(sweeny)  is  not  symptomatic,  but  is  the  result  of  myositis. 

Treatment. — The  principal  treatment  is  rest ;  afterward  diminish 
the  work,  and,  by  proper  diet  and  tonics,  increase  the  power  to  do 
it.  The  muscular  parts  affected  should  be  bathed,  morning  an  J 
evening,  with  a  portion  of  the  following: 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  327 

No.  50.  Fluid  extract  of  wormwood j  e&(^  2  oz 

Fluid  extract  of  poppies j 

Proof  spirits 1  pint. 

Mix. 

Should  the  feet  prove  to  be  very  hot  and  feverish,  frequent 
bathing  with  cold  water,  or  a  cold  infusion  of  hops,  will  have  a 
very  good  effect.  In  the  mean  time  give  the  animal  two  drachms 
of  fluid  extract  of  gelseminum,  once  or  twice  per  day,  until  the 
feverish  symptoms  subside.  Then,  when  the  case  passes  into  the 
chronic  stage  (sweeny),  the  shoulders  and  wasted  parts  are  to  be 
well  rubbed,  often,  with  a  portion  of  the  following : 

No.  51.  Fluid  extract  of  ginger 4  oz. 

Gum  camphor 1  oz. 

Olive  oil £  Pint- 

Pulverize  the  gum  ;  add  it  to  the  oil,  in  which  it  will  soon  dis- 
solve ;  then  mix  with  it  the  ginger,  and  the  preparation  is  fit  for 
use. 

Should  the  muscles  of  the  shoulder  waste,  in  consequence  of 
chronic  disease  or  altered  structure  about  the  hoof  or  within  it, 
such  as  ring-bone,  ossification  of  the  lateral  cartilages,  etc.,  then  a 
strong  counter-irritant  must  be  applied,  for  a  week  or  so,  around 
the  coronet.  At  the  same  time  we  should  treat  the  shoulder  as 
above.  A  good  counter-irritant  for  the  coronet  may  be  thus  pre- 
pared : 


No.  52.  Cod-liver  oil 
Kerosene 
Mix. 


°* ' (■  equal  parts. 


The  great  trouble  in  chronic  cases  of  this  character  is,  that  it 
usually  takes  a  long  time  to  free  the  animal  from  lameness,  and  to 
restore  the  muscles  of  the  shoulder  to  their  original  size ;  and,  after 
all  we  can  do,  it  may  be  necessary  to  let  the  animal  have  a  run  at 
grass.  It  will  be  advisable,  in  all  chronic  oases,  unless  the  hoise 
be  very  lame,  to  insure  regular  exercise,  which  will  tend  to  develop 
the  shrunken  muscles. 

The  best  way  to  prevent  sweeny  is  to  keep  the  horse  in  good 
condition  by  a  rational  use  of  his  muscular  powers,  being  carefii: 
not  to  overtax  them,  and  by  giving  proper  attention  to  his  feet, 
both  m  ihe  stable  and  at  the  blacksmith's  shop. 


328 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


Thorough-pin. 

The  seat  of  thorough-pin  is  between  the  popliteous  (fig.  2)  and 
the  point  of  the  hock,  near  where  the  tendon  is  severed,  as  shown 
in  the  accompanying  engraving.  The  disease  is  called  thorough- 
pin,  simply  because  the  fluid  contained  in  the  bursal  sac  can  be 
squeezed  from  one  side  to  the  other. 


YIEW  OF  SOME  OF  THE   DEEP-SEATED   MUSCLES   IN  THE   BEGION  OF  THE  HOCK   AK»  STIFLE. 

Explanation.— 1,  Popliteous ;  2,  Flexor  pedis  accessorius ;  3,  Flexor  metatarsi  magnus  ; 
4,  The  tendon,  common  both  to  the  flexor  metatarsi  and  extensor  pedis ;  5.  The  groove 
in  which  the  extensor  plays. 

Symptoms. — The  disease  is  similar  to  bog  spavin  and  wind-galls ; 
namely,  enlargement  of  a  synovial  sac.  It  seldom  if  ever  lames 
a  horse,  yet,  when  large,  is  apt  to  interfere  with  the  free  action  of 
the  joint, 

In  former  years  it  was  customary  to  open  thorough-pins  by 
means  of  a  lancet,  in  view  of  evacuating  the  fluid;  but  many  fatal 


•^AMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  329 


cases  having  occurred,  the  practice  is  now  discontinued.  AmoLg 
the  many  fatal  cases  recorded  I  select  the  following,  which  has 
been  recorded  in  the  "  Veterinarian,"  by  W.  A.  Wheatley,  V.  S. . 

"  The  subject  was  a  five-year  old  cart-horse,  the  property  of  the 
South-eastern  Railway  Company,  admitted  on  the  1st  of  Septem- 
ber, 1855,  with  an  immense  thorough-pin  on  the  off  hock.  The 
animal  being  then  in  a  very  high  condition,  a  support  shoe  was 
placed  on  the  foot  of  the  diseased  limb,  and  the  frequent  applica- 
tion of  cold  water  to  the  diseased  parts  resorted  to,  the  diet  being 
restricted  to  mashes. 

October  6. — The  horse  was  considered  in  a  fit  state  for  the  op- 
eration. Accordingly,  I  had  the  animal  secured  by  a  side  line,  and 
first  punctured  the  enlargement  with  the  exploring-needle,  in  four 
different  places;  but,  as  the  imprisoned  fluid  did  not  escape  so 
readily  as  I  expected,  I  determined  upon  opening  the  part  with 
the  lancet,  which  being  done,  the  fluid  escaped  to  the  amount  of  a 
small  tea-cupful.  It  was  of  a  thin  consistence,  and  of  a  pale  straw 
color.  I  then  applied  bandages  dipped  in  cold  water,  and  kept 
the  hock  constantly  wet. 

October  7. — The  swelling  had  very  slightly  returned.  I  gave 
6ome  aperient  medicine,  and  continued  the  bandages  with  cold 
water,  and  applied  a  suitable  truss  to  the  hock. 

I  need  not  give  a  report  of  the  case  from  day  to.  day.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  the  cold  water  and  the  truss  were  continued  in  use, 
and  the  animal  never  manifested  the  least  inconvenience  from  the 
operation. 

November  21. — He  was  considered  cured,  not  the  least  appear- 
ance of  the  enlargement  being  left. 

November  29. — On  this  day  the  horse  was  attacked  with  abdom- 
inal obstruction,  and,  despite  all  our  remedial  measures,  consisting 
of  active  purgatives,  as  solution  of  aloes,  calomel,  oleum  lini  et 
crotoni,  with  the  frequent  use  of  medicated  enemata,  counter- 
irritants,  etc.,  he  continued  to  grow  worse  till  the  1st  of  December, 
when  death  took  place.  This  was  the  fourth  attack  of  this  kind 
that  the  animal  had  experienced  while  under  treatment  for  the  dis- 
eased hock." 

The  danger  to  be  apprehended  in  cases  where  an  opening  is 
made  by  the  lancet  arises  from  the  liability  to  synovitis,  (inflamma- 
tion of  the  synovial  membrane,)  which  reacts  sympathetically  od 
r1-e  system,  producing  derangement  <  ?  some  of  the  organs  or  fune- 


330  DADDS   VETERINARY   MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

tions  of  the  body.     Therefore  I  consider  it  injudicious  to  lay  open 
a  synovial  capsule  in  any  part  of  the  body. 

Treatment. — The  safest  method  of  treatment  is  to  puncture  the 
sac,  by  means  of  small  needles.  After  having  evacuated  the  fluid 
through  the  sieve-like  needle-holes,  the  part  is  to  be  smeared  with 
ointment  of  iodine — one  drachm  of  iodine  to  seven  drachms  of 
simple  ointment.  Then  apply  a  spring  truss,  so  constructed  as  to 
press  on  both  sides  of  the  hock.  By  this  means  the  internal  parts 
of"  the  sac  are  kept  in  contact,  and  they  finally  unite.  Thus  the 
enlargement  is  obliterated.  If,  at  any  time  during  the  treatment, 
the  parts  become  hot  or  tender,  discontinue  the  ointment,  and  sub- 
stitute a  pad  on  each  extremity  of  the  truss,  which  are  to  be  kept 
constantly  wet  with  cold  water  until  the  inflammatory  action  dis- 
appears. 

Navicular  Lameness 

Navicular  lameness  is  of  very  frequent  occurrence  among  horses. 
It  usually  depends  upon  strain  or  injury  of  the  tendon,  known  as 
perforans,  just  where  it  passes  over  the  navicular  bone.  Some- 
times the  navicular  bone  becomes  diseased,  ulcerates,  and  finally 
becomes  fractured ;  at  other  times  the  bone  becomes  the  seat  of 
incrustations,  or  roughing,  and  thus  irritates  the  flexor  tendon. 
Such  affections  always  cause  pain  and  lameness.  Horses  with  nar- 
row heels,  or  those  laboring-  under  contraction  at  the  quarters  and 
heels,  suffer  much  pain  in  the  posterior  or  navicular  region,  in  con- 
sequence of  hoof  pressure  on  the  sensitive  parts  of  the  foot. 

A  disease  known  as  navicular  thritis  (inflammation  of  the  parts 
in  the  navicular  region)  often  prevails.  This  is  an  inflammatory 
affection,  very  painful,  and  much  resembles  laminitis)  fever  in  the 
foot). 

Symptoms. — Pointing  of  the  affected  foot;  the  animal,  while 
standing,  throws  the  affected  foot  forward,  by  which  means  the 
weight  of  the  forepart  of  the  body  is  transferred  to  the  other  limb ; 
the  animal  has  a  short,  tripping  gait,  and  steps  cautiously;  the 
muscles  of  the  shoulder  waste;  the  spine  of  the  shoulder-blade  be- 
comes quite  prominent ;  and  this  condition  of  the  muscles  is  often 
called  sweeny.  We  usually  find,  also,  that  the  heels  are  pinched 
:n,  and  the  walls  are  thin  and  weak.  The  liability  to  navicular 
lameness  is  very  great  in  horses  with  narrow  chests,  upright  pas- 
terns, and  outturned  toes.    Other  defects  in  the  loins  exist.    Henoe 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  331 

it  is  supposed  that  a  predisposition  to  this  affection  may  lurk  in 
the  breed ;  in  fact,  it  is  known  that  a  tendency  to  it  exists  in  the 
progeny  of  certain  horses.  It  is  related  that  the  progeny  of 
"  Young  Musician,"  a  thorough-bred  horse,  all  showed  a  tendency 
to  navicular  disease. 

Treatment. — We  first  ascertain  whether  the  difficulty  is  of  an 
acute  or  chronic  character.  Should  it  have  made  its  appearance 
very  suddenly,  and  the  part  feels  hot  and  painful,  then  we  class 
it  as  the  acute  stage.  Should  the  trouble,  however,  be  of  long 
standing,  it  will  be  in  the  chronic  stage.  In  the  acute  stage,  cold 
water  bandages  must  be  applied  to  the  region  of  the  fetlock,  which 
should  be  kept  wet  with  water,  to  which  may  be  added  a  little 
vinegar,  merely  to  acidulate  the  former;  the  patient  should  be 
kept  at  rest,  and  fed  on  a  light  diet.  In  the  chronic  stage,  coun- 
ter-irritants are  indicated,  yet  organic  disease  may  be  the  result; 
in  that  event,  the  horse  has  always  a  sort  of  groggy  walk,  and  ia 
never  sound. 

Neurotomy  has  been  practiced  in  view  of  treating  this  affection, 
but  I  can  not  perceive  how  such  an  operation  can  benefit  a  horse 
having  an  organic  difficulty.  Neurotomy  merely  destroys,  for  a 
short  time,  the  sensibility  of  certain  parts  of  the  foot ;  but  so  soon 
as  the  divided  nerve  reunites,  sensibility  is  again  restored.  There 
may,  however,  occur  some  form  of  lameness  which  might  be  bene- 
fited by  neurotomy,  but  I  think  the  same  thing  might  be  achieved 
by  counter-irritation,  and  without  the  use  of  the  knife.  The  coun- 
ter-irritant I  have  found  most  useful  is  as  follows : 

No.  53.  Cod-liver  oil 2  oz. 

Kerosene    3  oz. 

Cantharides   .- 1  dr. 

Mix. 

Apply  a  portion  of  the  above  to  the  navicular  region,  between 
the  heels  and  fetlock,  on  the  back  part,  once  or  twice  daily,  until 
the  part  is  well  blistered,  which  will  take  place  at  the  end  of  a 
week.  The  more  thorough  the  blistering,  the  more  chance  is  there 
of  doing  good.  No  after-dressing  need  be  applied,  unless  the 
parts  become  very  sore;  in  that  event,  I  should  lubricate  with 
alive  oiL 

It  will  be  necessary,  in  chronic  cases,  to  secure  the  services  of 
a  good  blacksmith,  so  that  the  animal  may  have  a  shoe  affixed 
properly  adapted  to  the  necessities  of  the  cas*>.     If  any  signs  of 


&52  UADD'S  VETERINAAi   MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

contraction  exist,  the  heels  are  to  be  opened,  and  the  walls  at  the 
quarters  must  be  rasped  thin,  so  as  to  remove  the  lateral  pressure 
on  the  sensitive  parts. 

It  may  be  necessary,  in  the  event  of  the  patient  not  being  bene- 
fited by  the  above  treatment,  to  reapply  the  counter-irritant;  thia 
matter  is  left  discretionary  with  those  who  take  the  case  in  hand. 
]n  the  treatment  of  such  cases,  the  owner  of  the  afflicted  animal 
must  be  prepared  to  exercise  due  patience,  for  the  day  of  recovery 
may  be  far  distant ;  often  it  is  a  mere  question  of  time,  and  not 
one  of  skill. 


Pleurodynia  (Painful  affection  of  the  Pleura  and 

Muscles  of  the  Chest). 

Pleurodynia  (in  human  practice)  signifies  pain  in  the  side,  from 
a  rheumatic  affection  of  the  pleura.  In  horses  the  malady  not 
only  affects  the  pleura,  but  also  the  intercostal  muscles.  It  is  a 
very  painful  malady,  and  some  persons  are  in  the  habit  of  calling 
it  "founder."  Pleurodynia,  however,  differs  in  its  origin  from 
'bunder,  inasmuch  as  the  latter  may  arise  from  various  causes, 
whereas  pleurodynia  is  almost  always  the  result  of  an  excessive 
use  of  the  muscular  powers,  or  when  the  animal  has  been  sub- 
jected to  long-continued  and  very  severe  exertion. 

Symptoms. — It  will  be  noticed  that  the  animal  moves  in  a  very 
stiff  manner ;  steps  short  and  quite  slow — he  appears  about  used 
up,  as  the  saying  is ;  the  back  is  arched,  and  the  skin  is  over  the 
service  of  the  body,  and  is  not  only  hot  but  very  tender;  on  mak- 
ing pressure  over  the  regions  of  the  sides  of  the  chest,  symptoms 
of  pain  will  be  elicited,  showing  conclusively  that  the  intercostal 
muscles  between  the  ribs  and  pleura,  or  lining  membrane  of  the 
cavity  of  the  chest,  are  involved;  the  respirations  are  short  and 
jerking,  and  the  number  of  pulsations  range  from  forty  to  sixty 
per  minute.  Both  fore-feet  are  usually  advanced,  and,  on  apply- 
ing a  hand  to  them,  it  will  be  found  that  they  are  unusually  hot, 
and  that  they  are  inflamed  ;  the  appetite  is  not  good ;  the  urine 
is  high-colored,  and  the  bowels  constipated.  Such  are  the  most 
observable  and  common  symptoms  of  this  painful  malady.  It  is 
something  like  rheumatism  in  its  pathology,  and  often  migrates 
to  the  brain,  or  its  investing  membranes.  When  this  happens 
there  remains  but  little  hope  for  the  patient. 


LAMENESS  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  333 

Treatment. — In  view  of  illustrating  the  treatment,  I  introduce 

the  following  case :    The  animal  had  been  hired  of  Mr.  P ,  of 

Chicago,  by  a  person  who  appeared  to  have  but  very  little  respect 
or  compassion  for  horse-flesh ;  for  on  the  return  of  the  animal  to 
the  stable,  he  showed  unmistakable  evidences  of  shameful  abuse. 
He  was  completely  jaded,  and  could  scarcely  stand  on  his  feet. 
He  received  proper  care  and  attention  during  the  night,  and  next 
morning  I  visited  him.  On  making  a  careful  examination,  I 
found  most  of  the  above  symptoms  present.  It  seemed,  however, 
that  his  feet  were  more  affected  than  other  parts  of  the  body,  and 
it  was  impossible  to  get  him  to  move.  I  had  his  feet  bathed 
constantly  with  cold  water,  and  his  joints,  back,  and  sides  were 
rubbed  with  a  liniment  composed  of  equal  parts  of  cod-liver  oil 
and  spirits  of  camphor.  The  medicine  administered  was  one 
ounce  of  powdered  niter,  night  and  morning,  for  three  days.  The 
pulse  had  decreased  to  thirty-six  per  minute,  and  the  respirations 
were  more  tranquil;  so  I  discontinued  the  niter,  and  commenced 
an  alterative  plan  of  treatment,  by  giving  one  ounce  of  fluid  ex- 
tract of  stillingia,  night  and  morning,  at  the  same  time  continuing 
the  local  applications  until  they  were  no  longer  needed.  One 
ounce  of  fluid  extract  of  buchu  was  occasionally  given,  in  view 
of  exciting  the  kidneys  to  action,  and  this  is  all  the  medicine  the 
patient  received  until  convalescence  was  established,  when  he  was 
placed  under  tonic  treatment.  The  tonic  used  was  one  ounce  and 
a  half  of  fluid  extract  of  golden  seal,  daily.  The  treatment  occu- 
pied a  period  of  two  weeks,  during  which  time  the  animal  stood 
but  little  on  his  limbs,  seldom  rising  except  to  partake  of  food, 
which  consisted  of  bran  and  water,  a  few  oats,  and  small  quan- 
tities of  hay.  So  soon  as  the  patient  had  regained  some  strength, 
he  was  led  to  pasture,  where  he  soon  got  well.  It  appears  that 
in  the  treatment  of  a  disease  of  this  character,  light  diet,  a  few 
simple  medicines,  and  good  nursing  are  all  that  are  indicated. 

Acute  Rheumatism, 

(Called  "Chest  Founder"  and  "Water  Founder. "> 

The  faithful  servant  of  man,  the  horse,  does  not  enjoy  im- 
munity from  this  distressing  disease.  The  same  causes  which 
operate  on  the  system  of  man  to  develop  a  disease  of  this  char- 
acter are,  with  unerring  certainty,  operative  on  the  inferior 
creature.     Rheumatism    is    mostly  confined  to  the  fibrous  tex- 


334 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


tures,  or  faschia  of  muscles,  and  the  inter-articular  cartilages  of 
the  joints,  and,  finally,  the  articulating  surfaces  of  the  bonea  be- 
come involved.      The  disease  is  always  characterized  by  g'/ea' 

pain,  and  sometimes  swelling  in  the  re- 
gion   of  joint.     It  is  accompanied   by  t 
quick  and  wiry  pulse,  and  by  other  symp- 
toms,   denominated    febrile.      It    occur* 
among   men    and    horses   at   all    seasons 
of  the  year,  yet  at  the  period  of  sud- 
den  transitions  from  heat  to  cold   it  is 
most   prevalent.     Animals  when  heated 
by  exercise,  and  then  suffered  to  "cool 
off,"  without  ordinary  care,  are  very  apt 
to  become  the  subjects  of  this  malady,  so 
that  prevention,  to  a  certain  extent,  is 
within   our  power,   and,  in   the  exercise 
of  preventive  measures,  we  may,   n  com- 
mon  parlance,   "stave  off,"   for  a  time, 
this  disease,  although  it  may  be  latent  in 
the    system    as    an    hereditary    affection. 
Mr.  F.  Dun,  who  is  good  authority  on 
the  subject,  says : 
"  Rheumatism  is  neither  so  common,  nor  are  its  symptoms  so 
well  marked,  in  horses  as  in  cattle.     When,  however,  it  does  occur 
in  the  horse,  it  manifests  the  same  well-known  appearances  which 
characterize  it  in  all  animals.     It  affects  the  fibrous  tissues  of 
joints,  the  coverings  of  muscles,  tendons,  valves  about  the  heart, 
and  larger  vessels,  and  manifests  a  peculiar  tendency  to  shift  from 
one  part  of  the  body  to  another,  often  affecting,  in  succession,  all 
the  larger  joints — at  one  time  chiefly  in  the  neck,  at  another,  in 
the  back  and  loins,  while,  in  many  of  its  more  acute  attacks,  it 
appears  to  involve  almost  every  portion  of  fibrous  and  fibro-serous 
tissues  throughout  the  body.     In  all  its  varied  types  it  exhibits  a 
full,  strong,  hard,  and  unyielding  pulse,  caused  by  the  inflamma- 
tion involving  the  serous  and  fibro-serous  tissues  of  the  heart  and 
circulating  vessels.     During  its  existence,  various  excrementitious 
matters  accumulate  in  the  blood,  and  the  fibrinous  constituents 
of  the  same  exeeed  their  normal  proportions,  as  indicated  by  the 
production  of  the  buffy  coat  on  the  blood.     In  severe  or  badly- 
treated  cases,  the  inflammation  is  very  apt  to  be  transformed  from 


4lTEnNAL  MUSCLES  AND   TENDONS 
OF  THE  OFF-HIND   LKG. 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  335 

the  joints  and  muscles  to  the  heart,  and  its  investing  membranes, 
and  it  is  the  danger  of  this  change  in  the  seat  of  the  disease  that 
renders  rheumatism  so  formidable,  and  often  so  fatal.  It  always 
leaves  the  parts  affected  so  altered  as  to  be  extremely  predisposed 
to  subsequent  attacks,  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  this  altered 
condition  is  reproduced  in  the  progenies  of  rheumatic  subjects,  and 
constitutes  in  them  the  inherent  tendency  to  the  disease. 

Horses  sometimes  suffer  from  rheumatic  inflammation  in  the 
fibrous  sheathing  envelopes  of  the  muscles  of  the  neck,  constitut- 
ing what  is  popularly  known  as  the  chords.  When  thus  affected, 
the  animal  is  very  stiff,  remains  as  much  as  possible  in  one  posi- 
tion, and  is  unwilling  to  bend  his  neck  either  one  way  or  the  other, 
or  to  elevate  or  depress  his  head.  There  is  always  more  or  less 
fever,  with  a  strong,  full  pulse.  Sometimes,  as  in  lumbago,  in  the 
human  subject,  it  affects  the  muscles  of  the  back  and  loins,  caus- 
ing stiffness,  tenderness,  and  pain,  which  are  especially  evinced  on 
moving  or  turning  the  animal.  These  rheumatic  affections  are 
very  readily  produced  in  predisposed  subjects  by  exposure  to  rain 
and  cold,  especially  when  accompanied  by  overheating  or  exhaus- 
tion. 

Rheumatism  sometimes  occurs  in  horses  as  a  prominent  symp- 
tom of  that  epizootic  affection  which  usually  receives  the  much- 
abused  title  of  influenza.  In  such  cases  the  rheumatism  is  of  a 
somewhat  more  subacute  or  chronic  character  than  common,  and 
is  accompanied  by  that  low,  debilitating  fever  so  often  the  con- 
comitant of  epizootic  maladies.  It  usually  affects  all  parts  of  the 
body  susceptible  of  the  rheumatic  inflammation,  is  attended  par- 
ticularly by  those  symptoms  which  indicate  disease  of  the  heart 
and  pericardium,  as  an  intermittent  pulse,  etc.,  and  often  termi- 
nates fatally  by  effusions  into  the  pleura  or  pericardium,  thus 
causing  death  by  arresting  the  motions  of  the  heart." 

Treatment. — In  the  treatment  of  rheumatism  simulating  an  in- 
flammatory type,  our  first  objec  I  is  to  produce  a  sedative  effect  on 
the  heart  and  its  vessels  of  circulation.  With  this  object  in  view, 
we  administer  one  or  two  drachms  of  fluid  extract  of  gelseminum 
every  four  hours,  until  the  pulse  becomes  softer.  In  the  mean  time 
a  few  doses  of  nitrate  of  potass*  should  be  given  in  the  water 


•Nitrate  of  Potassa. — In  a  case  of  synovial  rheumatism  thiB  remedy  wu 
giTfn  by  a  Boston  physician,  in  a  single  Jose  of  one  ounce,  dissolved  in  a  piat 


336  DADD'S   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 

.which  the  animal  drinks,  at  the  rate  of  one  ounce  per  day,  divided 
into  doses  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  times  the  patient  ia 
watered.  So  soon  as  the  animal  evinces  signs  of  improvement, 
the  above  treatment  is  to  be  discontinued ;  then  give  six  drachma 
per  day  of  fluid  extract  of  prince's  pine.  The  joints  which  seem 
to  be  affected  are  to  be  bathed  occasionally  with  camphorated 
vinegar,  in  the  proportion  of  one  ounce  of  camphor  to  eight  ounces 
(fluid)  of  vinegar 

Chronic  Rheumatism 

Chronic  rheumatism  is  usually  the  sequel  of  the  acute  kind.  It 
is  generally  obstinate  and  lingering,  and  prone  to  recur.  Unlike 
the  acute  kind,  pain  is  alleviated  by  counter-irritation  and  exer- 
cise ;  and  when  the  pntient  gets  warmed  up,  as  the  saying  is,  he 
either  forgets  his  pains  «t  becomes  relieved.  Bathing  with  warm 
vinegar  has  a  good  effect  in  the  treatment  of  this  disease,  but  1 
have  found  the  following  liniment  useful  in  almost  all  the  caset 
that  have  come  under  my  care : 

No.  54.  Oil  of  cedar 2  oz. 

Sulphuric  ether 1   oz. 

Proof  spirit 1  pint. 

First,  mix  together  the  oil  of  cedar  and  sulphn  ric  ether ;  then 
add  the  proof  spirit,  and,  after  shaking  it  awhile,  it  is  fit  for  use. 
Give  the  animal  one  fluid  drachm  of  the  fluid  extract  of  colchi- 
cum-root,  night  and  morning,  for  tl.  ree  days ;  after  which  give, 
daily,  twenty-five  grains  of  the  iodide  of  potass,  dissolved  in  half 
a  gill  of  water.  Should  the  animal  show  any  signs  of  debility  or 
loss  of  flesh,  tonics,  stimulants,  and  nutritious  diet  are  indicated. 

and  a  half  of  barley-water.  This  was  followed  by  one  grain  of  opium.  In  fif- 
teen hours  the  pulse  was  found  reduced,  and  the  pain  absolutely  gone ;  and  in  a 
few  days  the  tongue  was  clean,  and  the  swelling  entirely  abated.  The  remedy 
caused  neither  emesis  nor  catharsis,  but  passed  off  by  the  kidneys.  In  another 
case  of  acute  synovial  attack,  following  chronic  rheumatism,  the  same  dose  was 
prescribed  without  any  good  effect,  causing  active  catharsis.  Again,  half  an 
ounce  of  nitrate  of  potassa,  largely  diluted,  was  given  every  two  to  four  hours, 
until  the  patient,  took  three  ounces  in  eighteen  hours,  with  two  doses  of  opium 
of  one  grain  each,  with  entire  relief  to  the  pain  and  fever.  When  the  potash 
was  reduced  to  drachm  doses,  nausea  at  d  vomiting  followed,  which  were  relieved 
by  vesication  with  aqua  ammonia,  the  blister  beiug  sprinkled  with  half  a  grain 
of  morphine.  The  patient  recovered.  Another  physician  had  used  th?  remedj 
to  the  extent  of  half  an  ouncf  in  twenty-four  hours,  for  three  successive  days. 


.LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAU&riri.  337 

The  authorities  teach  us,  and  my  own  experience  has  confirmed 
the  fact,  that  iodide  of  potass  is  a  valuable  agent  in  the  treatment 
of  chronic  rheumatism.  It  is  most  sure  to  act  beneficially  when 
the  periosteum  (fibrous  covering  of  the  bones)  is  affected.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  chronic  rheumatism  often  cripples  the  joints  by 
producing  disease  of  the  bones  in  the  region  of  their  articulations. 
This  makes  a  poor  horse  dead  lame,  and  renders  him  almost  useless. 
When  the  bones  become  ulcerated  or  carious  there  remains  but  little 
hope  of  cure. 

Ring-bone. 

Ring-bone  is  a  form  of  disease  the  pathology  of  which  is  similar 
to  that  of  spavin  and  splent.  It  is  located  just  above  the  coronet 
or  crown  of  the  hoof.  The  enlargement  is  called  exostosis  (a  mor- 
bid enlargement  of  bone),  and  when  the  large  pastern  becomes 
united  to  the  smaller  one,  the  case  is  called  anchylosis  (permanent 
rigidity  of  the  joint). 

The  term  ring-bone  is  far  behind  the  times  as  regards  our  pres- 
ent knowledge  of  nosology  (the  doctrine  of  the  names  of  diseases) ; 
yet,  to  the  unprofessional,  it  is  suggestive,  and,  therefore,  we  are 
compelled  to  retain  a  name  which  all  can  interpret.  It  signifies 
a  complete  or  partial  eminence  around  pastern  bones.  The  ring 
is  formed  by  incrustations,  or  osseous  deposits  in  the  pastern,  or 
involving  the  joint,  as  the  case  may  be;  yet,  in  order  to  make  out 
a  pure  case  of  ring-bone,  that  comes  strictly  within  the  meaning 
of  the  term  as  horsemen  interpret  it,  there  must  exist  a  complete 
ridge  of  bone  around  the  anterior  part,  extending  from  side  to  side. 
A  pure  case  of  ring-bone  generally  originates  on  the  surface  of  the 
bone,  on  or  beneath  the  periosteum.  Commencing  at  the  lower 
margin  of  pastern  and  upper  part  of  the  coronet  bone,  the  disease 
spreads,  involving  both  capsular  ligament  and  joint.  The  remote 
cause  of  ring-bone  lies  in  hereditary  idiosyncrasies,  transmitted 
through  the  sexual  congress.  The  disease  itself  is  sometim3s  di- 
rectly transmitted.  I  once  bought  an  un weaned  colt,  and  brought 
it  up  by  hand.  A  short  time  after  purchase,  I  observed  enlarge- 
ments on  the  hind  pasterns.  He  ultimately  turned  out  to  be  a 
ring  -boned  animal,  and  had  stiff  joints.  I  found  out  afterward 
that  the  mother  had'  large  ring-bones  on  both  hind  pasterns.  The 
disease  was,  therefore,  congenital. 

Mr.  Percivall,  whose  opinion  on  such  matters  is  unquestiou 
22 


3«-8  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

able,  says  that  his  attention  to  the  hereditary  origin  of  ring-bone 
was  first  aroused  from  a  remark  made  by  an  extensive  dealer  in 
horses,  in  reply  to  a  question  put  to  him,  How  it  happened  that 
but  few  ringbones  were  met  with,  compared  to  the  number  that 
Attracted  notice  in  times  past?  The  reply  was,  "Because  no 
breeder  of  horses  nowadays  will  send  a  mare  to  a  horse  having 
ring-bone."  A  very  good  example  for  American  horsemen  to  fol- 
low, for  the  disease  is  very  prevalent  in  some  parts  of  this  country. 
A  vast  number  of  our  best  as  well  as  inferior  horses  are  the  sub- 
jects of  this  infirmity.  The  disease  lurks  in  breed,  after  the  fash- 
ion of  scrofula  and  consumption  in  the  human  subject.  When 
both  parents  are  affected,  the  disease  in  the  offspring  is  doubly 
severe. 

The  author  just  quoted  remarks  that  "  a  coarse  or  half-breed, 
fleshy  or  bony-legged  horse,  with  short  and  upright  pasterns,  is 
the  ordinary  subject  of  this  disease ;  and  there  exists  satisfactory 
reasons  why  we  should  expect  him  to  be  so.  The  pastern  and 
coffin  bones  constitute  the  nethermost  of  the  column  of  bones 
composing  the  limbs,  and  being  so,  they  receive  the  entire  weight 
and  force  transmitted  from  above.  The  pastern,  being  long  and 
oblique  in  position,  receives  the  superincumbent  weight  on  such  an 
indirect  line  that,  bending  toward  the  ground  with  the  fetlock, 
nothing  like  jar  nor  concussion  follows.  The  very  reverse  of  this, 
however,  happens  every  time  the  foot  of  a  limb,  having  a  short, 
upright  pastern,  comes  to  the  ground.  In  such,  instead  of  the 
weight  descending  obliquely  upon  the  sessamoids,  and  the  fetlock 
bending  therewith,  it  descends  directly,  or  nearly  so,  upon  the 
pasterns,  making  this  bone  entirely  dependent  on  the  bone  beneath 
it  for  counteracting  concussion ;  and  should  any  thing  occur  to 
diminish  this,  or  to  throw  more  weight  on  the  bones  beneath  than 
they  can  counteract,  jar  of  the  whole  apparatus  ensues;  and  an 
effort  of  Nature  to  strengthen  the  parts,  by  investing  them  w  itli 
callous  and  ossification,  is  likely  to  be  the  ultimate  result ;  for  wc 
would  view  ring-bone,  disease  though  it  must  assuredly  be  called, 
a  recourse  of  Nature  to  strengthen  weak  parts,  the  bones  being 
unequal  to  the  exertions  or  efforts  required  of  them." 
Another  quotation  may  possibly  interest  the  reader : 
"  Ring-bone  is  an  exostosis  (a  growth  of  bone  from  bone)  situated 
tround  the  coronet,  mostly  near  the  pastern  joint,  at  other  times 
just  above  it;  and  not  unfrequently  the  joint  becomes  anchylosd 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  339 

owing  to  the  spread  of  ossification;  that  is,  the  coffin  bone  and 
pastern  bone  become  united  together  by  bony  growth.  Ring- 
bones are  the  result  of  hereditary  predisposition,  structural  organi- 
zation, and  accident.  As  to  hereditary  predisposition,  there  is  no 
doubt  but  that  some  sires,  the  subjects  of  spavin,  ring-bone,  and 
other  forms  of  exostosis,  father  foals  which  often,  sooner  or  later, 
tnemselves  become  victims  of  the  same  disease.  The  same  law 
applies  to  dams.  Breeders  of  horses  are  fully  aware  of  this  fact, 
and  are,  therefore,  more  careful  than  formerly  in  the  selection  of 
parents  for  the  purposes  of  breeding  from.  As  to  form,  many 
living  cases  which  now  exist  prove  the  truth  of  the  statement  that 
low-bred,  coarse-limbed  horses,  with  short,  upright  pasterns,  are 
frequently  subjects  of  ring-bone.  Why  such  should  be  the  case 
with  animals  with  upright  pasterns  is  easily  explained,  as  follows : 
The  pastern  bones  in  a  well-formed  limb  ought  to  form  an  oblique 
angle  with  the  cannon-bone  (metacarpus)  placed  above  them; 
whereas,  if  the  pastern  is  upright,  the  column  of  bones  from  the 
elbow-joint  to  the  foot  is,  necessarily,  placed  in  one  and  the  same 
straight  line,  causing,  at  every  step  made  by  the  animal  during 
progression,  a  severe  concussive  shock  to  be  produced  on  the  whole 
column  of  bones,  but  more  especially  on  the  pastern  bones,  owing 
to  the  superincumbent  weight  of  the  bones  above  them.  Thus  one 
or  more  of  the  pastern-bones  become  injured  and  inflamed,  and, 
finally,  as  a  consequence,  exostosis  ensues,  the  coronet  becomes  in- 
volved, and  the  disease  denominated  ring-bone  is  set  up." 

Mr.  Percivall  quotes  from  Gibson :  "  When  a  well-formed, 
high-bred  horse  happens  to  have  a  ring-bone,  we  may  conclude  it 
to  proceed  from  some  accident  rather  than  from  any  natural  fault. 
The  disease  may  also  be  produced  by  a  blow  to  the  part,  and  from 
the  efforts  made  to  increase  speed,  when  concussion  causes  injury, 
inflammation,  and  consequent  exostosis  to  the  bones  of  the  pastern. 
As  to  treatment,  we  should  recommend  the  proprietors  of  young 
horses,  subject  to  ring-bones,  to  place  their  horses  in  a  state  of 
nature,  by  removing  the  shoes  from  their  feet,  and  by  turning  out 
to  grass.  If  this,  after  a  fair  trial,  fail,  then  the  treatment  for 
spavin  and  other  exostosis  must  be  resorted  to,  such  as  blistering 
the  affected  part  and  keeping  the  animal  on  a  low  diet.  No  dis- 
ease is  more  troublesome  to  treat,  or  more  demands  the  strict  at- 
ention  of  a  skillful  veterinarian." 

Causes.-  —  The  exciting   causes   of  ring-bone   are   ligamentarj 


340  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SUTtGERY. 

sprains,  brouglit  about  by  overwork,  extraordinary  feats  of  strength. 
in  drawing  heavy  loads,  etc.  In  short,  either  sprain,  injury,  blow, 
or  bruise  may  act  as  the  pathological  spark  to  bring  about  the 
disease. 

Regarding  the  treatment  of  ring-bone,  it  would  be  interesting, 
and  perhaps  amusing,  to  call  attention  to  some  of  the  heroic 
methods  of  combating  this  malady ;  but  the  animal  has  nerves  of 
sensibility,  and  is  as  keenly  alive  to  pain  as  one  of  us ;  therefore 
it  is  not  really  pleasant  to  dwell  on  the  atrocities  which  are  net 
unfrequently  practiced  on  this  noble  animal.  A  very  common 
error  exists  in  the  minds,  of  some  people  that  ring-bone  is  fed  by 
a  bladder  at  the  posterior  part  of  the  pastern,  which  has  about  as 
much  to  do  in  the  production  of  the  disease  as  the  author  of  this 
work.  This  error  would  not  amount  to  much,  however,  only  it 
has  led  to  the  infliction  of  a  cruel  operation,  without  the  least 
advantage ;  namely,  the  cutting  out  of  the  bladder.  Now,  this  so- 
called  bladder  is,  in  reality,  a  bursal  sac,  the  use  of  which  is  to 
secrete  synovia,  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  against 
friction ;  therefore,  the  extraction  of  it  must  be  disadvantageous  to 
the  parts. 

It  seems  that  ring-bone  is  not  enough  torment  for  the  poor  brute 
to  suffer,  but  he  must,  in  addition,  submit  to  a  species  of  cruelty 
unheard  of  in  the  annals  of  human  medicine.  Such  treatment  is 
wrong,  and  every  man  who  loves  a  horse  should  set  his  face  against 
it,  aud  use  every  effort  for  the  purpose  of  putting  a  step  to  the 
practice  of  all  barbarity  in  the  treatment  of  domestic  animals. 

Treatment. — The  question  to  decide,  when  we  undertake  to  treat 
a  case  of  this  character  is,  whether  the  disease  is  in  the  acute  or 
chronic  stage.  Experience  teaches  us  that  nearly  all  diseases  may 
be  divided  into  two  classes :  First,  the  acute,  or  those  which  come 
on  suddenly,  attended  by  pain  and  fever,  or,  rather,  febrile  symp- 
toms ;  for  there  are  no  primary  fevers  in  the  horse.  Equine  fevers 
are  always  called  into  existence,  or  accompany  a  pathological  con- 
dition  which  frequently  existed,  and  the  fever  is  i  1  exact  ratio  to 
the  intensity  of  the  disease.  Cure  the  disease  and  the  fever  ceases. 
Acute  diseases  also  tend  to  termination  within  a  short  period  of 
t;me,  or  else  run  into  the  chronic  stage.  Secondly,  the  chronio 
fitage.  Chronic  diseases  are  those  of  slow  progress,  and  exceed  in 
duration  the  ordinary  existence  of  the  acute  class.  They  may 
Arise  in  consequence  of  acute  diwrrjers,  or  be  developed  originally 


LAMENESS.  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  341 

in  tne  form  which  they  long  afterward  preserve.  For  the  most 
part,  chronic  disease  and  lameness  are  not  marked  by  any  violent 
symptoms,  nor  are  they  accompanied  with  much  pain,  if  the  hor«e 
be  kept  at  rest. 

Suppose  the  disease  to  have  first  made  its  appearance,  the  parta 
will  be  hot  and  painful ;  but  the  idea  of  curing  ring-bone — that 
is,  restoring  the  parts  to  their  normal  condition — is  really  absurd ; 
for,  when  once  the  bones  are  anchylosed,  the  joint  never  can  per- 
form its  natural  function  again.  The  new  growths  (exostosis), 
aDd  the  changes  of  structure  that  occur  within  and  about  the 
region  of  disease,  are  a  part  of  Nature's  own  handiwork,  in  view 
of  strengthening  a  weak  bone  or  joint.  Our  object  in  the  treat- 
ment, therefore,  is  merely  to  aid  Nature.  Excuse  the  animal  from 
work,  and  apply  sedative  lotions  (cold-water  dressings)  so  long  as 
the  acute  stage  lasts;  then,  when  the  case  passes  into  the  chronic 
stage,  apply  counter-irritants  for  a  week  or  two,  and,  finally,  turn 
the  patient  out  to  grass.  The  following  will  be  found  an  effectivo 
sedative  lotion : 

No.  55.  Spirits  of  camphor 2  oz. 

Fluid  extract  of  wormwood 1  oz. 

Vinegar 5  oz. 

To  be  applied  twice  daily. 

The  following  is  an  excellent  counter-irritant  for  ring-bone  in 

its  chronic  stage : 

No.  56.  Cod-liver  oil ")  , 

Kerosene j  equal  parts. 

Apply  once  or  twice  daily,  until  a  crop  of  pustules  appear ;  then 
omit  the  application,  and  reapply  it  at  the  expiration  of  two  or 
three  intermitting  periods. 

The  remedies  used  by  veterinary  surgeons  generally,  are  oil  of 
cantharides,  acetate  of  cantharides,  blistering  ointment,  ointment 
of  biniodide  of  mercury,  and,  lastly,  the  actual  cautery,  or  heated 
iron.  I  have  tried  all  except  the  latter,  which  savors  too  much 
of  barbarity,  and  I  never  found  any  thing  to  equal  the  preparation 
here  recommended — namely,  cod-liver  oil  and  kerosene. 


'  Navicularthritis     (Navicular  Disease). 

Navicularthritis  is  an  acute  disease,  supposed  to  be  confined  to 
the  navicular  region,  or  joint,  which  is  in  the  posterior  part  of  the 


342  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

foot.  The  navicular  bone  (sometimes  called  the  shuttle-bone1)  \s 
so  placed  as  to  strengthen  the  union  between  the  lower  pasters 
and  the  coffin  bone,  and  to  enable  the  flexor  tendon,  which  passes 
over  it,  in  order  to  be  inserted  into  the  bottom  of  the  coffin  bone, 
to  act  with  more  advantage.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  weight 
thrown  on  the  navicular  bone,  and  from  the  navicular  bone  to 
ihe  tendon,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  motion  or  play  between 
them  in  the  bending  and  extension  of  the  pasterns.  It  is  very 
easy,  therefore,  to  conceive  that  from  sudden  concussion,  or  from 
rapid  and  unrestrained  motion,  the  delicate  membrane  which  covers 
the  bone,  or  the  cartilage  of  the  bone,  may  become  diseased.  The- 
bone  sometimes  becomes  ulcerated  and  fractured,  so  that  it  renders 
the  horse  almost  perpetually  lame. 

Symptoms. — The  principal  symptom  of  this  affection  is  pointing 
of  the  foot.  If  the  horse  be  watched,  when  standing  still  in  the 
stable  or  on  the  street,  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  affected  limb  is 
advanced  or  pointed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  relieve  the  navicular 
bone  of  any  pressure  from  the  flexor  tendon,  and  this  occurs  in 
the  chronic  stage  as  well  as  in  the  acute.  It  will  be  observed, 
also,  that  the  animal,  when  traveling,  takes  short  steps,  goes  on 
the  toe,  and  tries  to  favor  the  heel,  or  posterior  parts,  as  much  as 
possible.  The  favoring  of  the  heel  tends  to  destroy  the  function 
of  expansibility  of  the  hoof,  and  contraction  of  the  same  is  the 
result. 

Treatment. — Should  the  disease  be  discovered  early,  that  is,  in 
the  acute  stage,  the  foot  should  be  placed  in  a  boot  lined  with  a 
sponge.  The  latter  is  to  be  kept  constantly  wet  with  a  portion 
of  vinegar  and  water,  equal  parts.  This  may  be  continued  for  a 
period  of  twenty-four  hours,  at  the  end  of  which  time  bathe  the 
coronet  and  heels  with  tincture  of  arnica.  Light  diet  and  perfect 
quiet,  as  in  every  other  variety  of  inflammatory  disease,  are  always 
necessary. 

In  old  chronic  cases  we  resort  to  counter-irritation,  through  re- 
peated applications  of  the  acetate  of  cantharides.  Should  there  be 
any  appearance  of  contraction,  the  heels  of  the  hoof  must  be  well 
opened,  and  the  walls  of  the  hoof,  near  the  heels,  must  be  rasped 
thin,  so  as  not  only  to  favor  the  expansibility  of  the  foot,  but  also 
with  a  view  to  relieve  the  navicular  region  of  any  undue  pres- 
sure, 


lameness,  from  various  causes.  343 

Siifle  Out  (Dislocation  or  Luxation  of  the  Stifla 

Bone). 

The  patella  of  the  horse,  or  stifle  bone,  as  it  is  familiarly  known, 
corresponds  to  the  knee-pan  of  man,  and  answers  the  same  pur- 
pose; that  is,  to  facilitate  motion,  and  protect  the  two  extremities 
of  the  bones  which  compose  the  stifle-joint.  It  is  retained  in  situ 
at  the  anterior  part  of  the  inferior  extremity  of  the  thigh  bone  and 
3iiperior  extremity  of  the  tibia. 

Ai;  accident  of  this  character  is  generally  accompanied  with  con 
siderable  pain  and  uneasiness ;  but  the  most  notable  symptom  is, 
the  bone  is  thrown  off  its  pulley-like  articulator)-  surface,  and  thus 
the  recti  and  vasti  muscles  (the  latter  being  direct  extensors  of  the 
leg  or  thigh,  and  the  action  of  the  former  being  similar)  are,  for 
the  time  being,  paralyzed ;  that  is  to  say,  their  action  is  suspended. 
If  they  act  at  all,  it  is  under  great  disadvantage,  and  at  the  expense 
of  their  muscular  integrity.  The  liability  to  luxation  of  the  stifle 
bone  (patella)  is  not  so  great  as  some  persons  would  have  us  be- 
lieve. The  bone  is  secured  in  its  position  by  a  number  of  strong 
ligaments — has  a  complete  articulator)7  joint  of  its  own,  whose 
capsular  ligaments  have  strong  attachments  to  surround  them.  The 
muscles,  tensor  vaginae,  rectus,  vasti  faschia,  panniculus  carnosus, 
subcellular  substance  and  integument,  all  operate  favorably  against 
the  chances  of  luxation.  The  accident,  however,  does  sometimes 
occur — not,  perhaps,  from  any  disarrangement  of  the  mechanical 
order  of  the  parts  by  violence,  such  as  might  be  operative  in  dis- 
location of  the  thigh  or  arm  bones,  but  often  from  spasm,  cramp, 
etc.,  of  certain  muscles  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  parts. 

"  I  think  his  stifle  is  out,"  is  a  very  common  complaint  made 
by  horse-owners  when  a  horse  becomes  lame,  and  the  "  neighbors" 
can  not  discover  the  exact  location  of  the  same.  They  hastily 
conclude,  if  the  lameness  is  in  the  hind  extremity,  that  the  "  stifle 
is  out "  (luxated).  Here  is  a  case  in  point.  I  received  a  message 
some  time  ago,  to  visit  a  horse  said  to  have  "  his  stifle  out."  On 
making  examination  of  the  foot  on  the  lame  side,  I  found  it  much 
hotter  than  its  fellow  on  the  opposite  side.  The  owner,  at  the 
moment,  remarked  that  there  was  "  no  trouble  in  the  foot."  He, 
however,  was  mistaken  •  for  I  found  that  a  nail  had  entered  the 
posterior  part  of  the  cleft  of  the  frog,  which  I  extracted,  and  this 
tva<  the  sole  cause  of  lameness.     I  might  relate  a  number  of  mis- 


344  DADD'S  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

takes  of  this  kind,  all  going  to  show  how  very  apt  people  are  to 
be  deceived  regarding  the  seat  of  lameness  in  horses.  In  short, 
judging  from  my  own  experience,  and  the  testimony  offered  by 
other  professional  men,  it  may  be  confidently  asserted  that  luxation 
of  the  patella  is  quite  a  rare  accident.  These  remarks  are  intended 
for  the  instruction  of  the  non-professional  reader.  Persons  con- 
\ersant  with  the  anatomy  of  the  horse  are  not  expected  to  make 
such  a  mistake  as  the  one  just  alluded  to ;  hence  they  do  not  stand 
in  aeed  of  the  author's  advice. 

Method  of  reducing  dislocation  of  the  patella. — The  means  of  re- 
duction are  very  simple.     The  patella  will  be  found  on  the  lower 
and  outer  condyle  of  the  thigh  bone.     With  one  hand  let  the 
operator  grasp  the  leg,  just  below  the  hock,  and  raise  it  from  the 
ground  in  an  upward  and  forward  direction ;  the  other  hand  em- 
braces the  stifle  bone,  and  by  a  simultaneous  action  of  pressing  the 
latter  inward,  and  the  bones  that  compose  the  joint  backward,  the 
reduction  is  soon  effected.     The  bone,  in  returning  to  its  natural 
situation,  emits  a  sound  such  as  usually  follows  that  of  a  dislocated 
bone  just  at  the  moment  when  slipping  into  the  socket.     A  recent 
dislocation,  when  reduced,  needs  no  after-treatment,  except  th'j 
occasional  application  of  an  astringent  and  a  couple  of  days'  rest ; 
but,  should  the  bone  have  remained  unreduced  for  many  hours,  we 
may  infer  that  the  muscles  and  ligaments  have  been  stretched  or 
distended  too  long  in  one  direction,  and  that,  on  reduction,  the 
fibers  of  the  muscles  concerned  may  not  immediately  contract; 
hence  the  bone  is  apt  to  slip  off  its  articulatory  surface  again.    To 
guard  against  this  mishap,  a  man  must  be  stationed  beside  the 
horse.     He  must  keep  his  hand  on  the  bone,  and  by  pressure, 
when  the  horse  moves,  retain  it  in  its  proper  place.     At  the  same 
time,  the  part  i?  to  be  bathed  with  some  astringent.     An  infusion 
of  white-oak  bark  will  answer ;  or,  failing  to  obtain  this  article, 
apply  alum-water,  in  the  proportion  of  two  ounces  of  alum  to  one 
quart  of  water. 

Contraction  of  the  Hoop. 

Contraction  of  the  hoof  is  so  easily  recognized  by  persons  accus- 
tomed to  handle  horses,  that  very  little  needs  to  be  written  on  that 
subject.  A  contracted  foot  "  speaks  for  itself,"  as  the  saying  is. 
The  ueeb  are  approximated  too  closely,  and  this  mars  the  beauty 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  345 

and  form  of  the  foot.  Contraction  is  almost  always,  in  its  first 
stage,  accompanied  by  lameness.  Faulty  shoeing  is  said  to  have 
considerable  to  do  in  the  production  of  contracted  feet;  yet  there 
are  plenty  of  horses,  having  strong,  thick,  walled  hoofs,  very  wide 
at  the  heels,  often  shod  in  the  worst  possible  manner,  and  their 
heels  never  contract.  It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  a  predisposition 
to  contraction  lurko  in  some  breeds  of  horses,  which  is  shown  by 
their  having  weak  quarters  and  a  thin,  shelly  hoof.  A  contracted 
hoof,  which  is  very  thin  at  the  heels,  may  not  occasion  lameness, 
because  it  is  more  elastic  than  the  thick,  walled  hoof,  and  gives  to 
the  lateral  pressure  of  the  foot  when  it  comes  to  the  ground. 

Percivall  contends  that  "shoeing  must  be  regarded  as  the 
main  cause,  indirect  though  it  be,  of  contraction ;  and  to  the  modifi- 
cation or  correction  of  it  must  we  look  for  the  prophylactic.     Shoe- 
ing, as  it  respects  horses,  has  been  said  to  be  '  a  necessary  evil.' 
Without  shoes,  upon  our  artificial  roads,  we  can  not  make  use  of 
horses ;  and  no  shoes  have  been  found  to  answer  save  such  as  are 
hard  and  inflexible  or  metallic,  and  as  are  fixed  to  the  hoofs  with 
nails.    Here,  therefore,  we  find  ourselves  in  an  awkward  dilemma. 
We  can  not  do  without  horseshoes;  and  from  the  moment  we  nail 
them  to  the  hoofs,  the  feet  begin  to  undergo  more  or  less  alteration 
in  form,  and,  in  too  many  instances,  to  experience  harm  from  their 
application.     The  art  of  shoeing  has  given  rise  to  a  wonderful  deal 
of  difference  of  opinion  and  controversy,  some  thinking  one  shape 
of  shoe  answered  best,  some  another ;  while  some  prefer  one  mode 
of  nailing  it  upon  the  hoof,  others  a  different  one.     As  far  as  my 
own  experience  has  served  as  a  guide  to  me  through  this  labyrinth 
of  opinion,  I  have  ever  found  that  method  of  shoeing  the  prefera- 
ble one  which  approached  the  nearest  to  Nature,  or,  in  other  words, 
which  interfered  the  least  with  the  economy  of  the  foot.     If  we 
could  do  without  them,  horseshoes  would,  undoubtedly,  be  best 
abolished  altogether ;  but,  since  this  is  impracticable,  let  us  adopt 
such  shoes  and  modes  of  attaching  them  to  the  hoofs  as  are  found 
to  work  the  least  mischief  to  the  feet.    On  this  principle  it  is  that 
a  half  shoe  is  to  be  preferred  to  a  whole  shoe,  and  for  the  same 
reason  it  is  that  tips,  of  all  the  horseshoes  that  were  ever  invented, 
are  the  best ;  that  is,  the  least  objectionable.     If  those  in  the  pro- 
fession would  come  forward  and  inform  us  of  their   experience 
(if  they  have  had  any)  of  tip-shoeing,  I  believe  it  would   uni- 
formly be  found  that,  whatever  objection  might  be  urged  against 


34G  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

the  use  of  tips,  no  one  would  deny  their  tendency  the  least  to 
interfere  with  the  operations  of  the  foot.  If  there  be  any  horse- 
shoe calculated  to  prevent  contraction,  and  navicularthritis  as 
well,  I  feel  no  hesitation  myself  in  pronouncing  that  horseshoe  to 
be  the  tip.  In  saying  so  much,  I  am  fully  aware  that  tip-shoeing 
can  not  be  introduced  into  general  practice  for  reason  of  the  roads 
horses  have  to  travel  and  work  upon,  and  of  the  numbers  of  horses 
having  hoofs  of  too  weak  and  brittle  a  fiber  to  stand  work  without 
chipping  and  breaking  and  wearing  too  rapidly  away.  On  horses, 
however,  whose  hoofs  are  strong  and  hard  enough,  and  whose 
work  is  light  enough  to  admit  of  their  wearing  tips  for  any  length 
of  time,  or  in  situations  where  the  roads  or  parts  of  the  country 
they  have  to  do  their  work  upon  enable  them  to  wear  tips  con- 
stantly, no  wholly-shod  horses'  feet  will  ever  bear  a  comparison 
with  theirs. 

Pressure  to  the  frog. — Coleman's  favorite  prophylactic  against 
contraction  (considering  shoeing  to  be  an  indispensable  evil)  must 
certainly  be  regarded  as  next  in  importance,  as  a  preventive,  to 
getting  quit  of  the  shoe  itself,  or  of  part  of  it.  The  frog  being 
a  body  which  in  action  operates  in  the  expansion  of  the  hoof,  the 
removal  of  it,  or  even  the  impairment  of  it,  must,  necessarily,  give 
facility  to  contraction.  It  therefore  behooves  us,  in  ordinary  shoe- 
ing, to  look  well  to  the  preservation  of  the  integrity  of  this  im- 
portant part  of  the  foot. 

The  cutting  away  of  the  bars  in  shoeing,  through  robbing  the 
hoof  of  a  couple  of  stays  operating  against  the  closure  of  its  heels, 
conduces  to  its  contraction.  Nature  gave  the  bars  as  a  sort  of 
buttress  against  either  heel  of  the  hoof,  to  oppose  its  drawing  in- 
ward, while  the  frog,  placed  between  the  heels,  is  operating  in 
forcing  them  asunder ;  consequently,  if  the  bars  be  removed,  the 
expansive  or  counteractive  powers  of  the  hoof  lose  an  agent  they 
can,  in  many  cases,  ill  afford  to  be  deprived  of. 

The  contracting  effects  of  heat  and  drought  on  the  hoof  may  he 
guarded  against  by  keeping  the  horse's  stall  free  from  ferment- 
able litter,  while  the  atmosphere  of  the  stable  is  maintained  cool 
and  unpolluted.  The  practice,  also,  of  stopping  horses'  feet  (or, 
what  I  believe  to  be  better,  of  wearing  swabs  in  the  stable)  will 
likewise  tend  to  guard  against  the  contracting  effects  of  thest 
agents.     We  now  come  to  the 

Treatment  of  contracted  feet. — The  first  thing  to  determine,  when* 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  347 

ever  a  case  <.f  contraction  is  submitted  to  us  for  treatment,  will  be 
whether  it  be  one  of  the  pure  or  mixed  description.  If  the  former, 
the  horse  not  therefore  lame,  and  his  feet  be  submitted  to  our  in- 
spection simply  from  the  apprehension  of  his  becoming  lame,  and 
the  contraction  be  on  this  account  desired  to  be  removed,  the  simple 
and  best  means  of  doing  so  will  be  to  subetitute  tips  for  the  horse's 
ordinary  shoes,  and  to  order  that  he  stand  with  his  contracted  feet 
in  cold  water  (or,  what  is  better,  in  a  bed  of  clay)  for  a  couple  of 
hours,  once  or  twice  a  day,  he  being  allowed  to  lie  down,  as  usual, 
at  night.  By  such  a  simple  plan  of  treatment  as  this  will  his  hoofs, 
giving  sufficiency  of  time  for  Nature  to  carry  out  her  operations, 
become  restored  to  their  pristine  condition." 

The  author's  method  of  treating  contraction  is,  to  soften  the 
hoof  by  soaking  it  often  in  warm  water ;  then  open  the  heels  by 
means  of  the  drawing-knife ;  rasp  the  quarters  of  the  hoof;  then 
pare  the  foot,  but  do  not  touch  the  bars  nor  frog ;  then  put  on  a 
light  shoe,  and  use  the  animal,  daily,  at  light  work.  It  will  be 
proper,  also,  to  anoint  the  hoof,  frog,  and  sole  occasionally  with 
a  portion  of  fish  oil  and  spirits  of  turpentine,  equal  parts.  This 
will  soon  soften  the  hoof,  and  render  it  elastic. 

Hoof-bound. 

This  term  is  usually  applied  to  hoofs  that  appear  to  be  dry, 
brittle,  unyielding,  and  having  the  appearance  of  more  or  less 
contraction  at  the  heels.  The  hoof,  under  such  circumstances, 
"  pinches  the  foot,"  as  the  saying  is,  or,  rather,  embraces  the  soft 
tissues  too  closely.  The  consequence  is,  pain,  fever,  lameness,  and 
perhaps,  finally,  organic  disease  of  the  foot.  The  condition  of  the 
foot  termed  hoof-bound  usually  occurs  in  horses  laboring  under 
some  predisposition  to  the  same ;  that  is  to  say,  they  have  faulty 
feet,  which  fault  may  be  either  functional  or  structural,  and  thus 
the  foot  may  be  affected  accordingly  whenever  the  ordinary  causes 
of  disease  are  in  operation. 

Causes. — The  ordinary  or  exciting  causes  of  diseases  of  the  feei 
are  said  to  be  faulty  shoeing;  allowing  horses  to  stand  on  plank 
floors,  or  in  any  situation  which  is  likely  to  pervert  the  function 
of  the  foot ;  sometimes  the  feet  are  very  much  neglected,  and 
scarcely,  if  ever,  make  the  acquaintance  of  sponge  and  water,  am* 
it  is  very  certain  that  uncleanlincss  has  a  bad  effect  upon  the  feet. 


348  DAD ,  S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERX. 

ss  it  is  known  to  have,  on  other  parts  of  the  body.  "  No  prinoa 
ever  died  of  the  plague,"  shows  that  the  ablutions  daily  practiced 
by  persons  of  refinement,  occupying  an  exalted  position  in  society, 
operate  as  a  preventive  against  even  a  mortal  malady.  Yet,  no*.- 
withstanding  all  this,  it  is  proper  for  us  to  remark  that  some  horses 
are  occasionally  the  subjects  of  foot  maladies,  notwithstanding  the 
very  best  system  of  shoeing  is  practiced  on  them  ;  and  others,  that 
never  stood  on  a  plank  floor  or  inclined  plane,  are  in  the  same  pre- 
dicament; so,  also,  are  some  that  have  their  feet  washed  often 
This  goes  to  show  that  if  animals  under  the  very  best  care  and 
management  get  hoof-bound,  or  contracted  feet,  it  is  due  to  a  pre- 
disposition which  they  have  either  inherited  or  acquired,  and,  as 
the  old  saying  is,  they  would  not  enjoy  bodily  health  unless  they 
were  hoof-bound. 

It  is  very  evident  that  many  diseases  of  the  feet  are  traceable 
to  bad  shoeing.  Some  persons  seem  to  suppose  that  the  foot  of  a 
horse  is  as  insensible  as  stone;  and,  when  we  see  the  blacksmith 
wrenching  off  shoes  by  main  force,  often  fracturing  the  hoof  or 
breaking  off  a  portion  of  the  bars,  frog,  and  sole,  with  as  little 
care  as  a  man  would  rough-trim  a  log,  and  afterward  applying  a 
red-hot  shoe  to  the  thinned  sole,  we  might  be  led  to  infer  that  the 
foot  is  really  insensible.  The  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder  thu8 
denounces  such  bad  practice : 

"  I  know  of  no  greater  evidence  of  inhumanity  to  that  noble 
animal  the  horse,  than  the  almost  universal  custom  of  paring  down 
the  foot  and  burning  on  the  shoe.  It  has  ever,  to  my  mind,  been 
among  the  barbarisms  of  the  age,  which  I  trust  will  be  no  longer 
countenanced  by  civilized  society  ;  and  I  sympathize  with  the 
efforts  of  every  one  engaged  in  correcting  such  dangerous  prac- 
tices." 

The  practice,  also,  of  using  a  pair  of  pinchers  on  the  feet,  in 
view  of  discovering  some  real  or  supposed  lameness,  is  equally 
barbarous,  and  often  results  in  bruises  of  the  sole,  and  should, 
therefore,  be  discountenanced. 

Treatment. — The  blacksmith  should  so  prepare  the  foot  and  fit 
the  shoe  that  the  frog  may  be  brought  in  contact  with  the  ground 
over  which  the  horse  travels.  This  not  only  prevents  undue  con- 
cussion, which  would  otherwise  occur,  but  tends,  also,  to  expand 
the  heels,  and  preserve  the  natural  tread  and  function  of  the  foot. 
Having  prepared  the  foot  in  a  proper  manner,  we  then,  if  the  sea- 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  .549 


son  of  the  year  permits,  apply  cold  water  to  the  hoofs,  often  and 
freely.  At  night  the  feet  are  to  be  wiped  perfectly  dry,  and,  by 
means  of  a  sponge,  a  portion  of  the  following  mixture  must  be 
rubbed  on :  Kerosene  oil  and  honey,  equal  parts ;  or  neats-foot 
oil  and  turpentine,  equal  parts.  Notwithstanding  the  very  best 
treatment,  the  restoration  of  the  foot  to  comparative  or  natural 
soundness  will  be  a  work  of  time,  and  sometimes,  in  bad  cases,  or 
one  of  long  standing,  an  impossibility ;  yet  the  above  treatment  is 
the  best  we  are  acquainted  with.  Some  persons  prefer  to  use 
moistened  clay,  cow-dung,  etc.,  but  they  are  of  no  value,  only  in 
consequence  of  the  moisture  they  contain,  and  clean  water  is  far 
preferable. 

Tlie  Mechanism  of  the  Hoof. — A  brief  exposition  of  the  mechan- 
ism of  the  hoof  may  possibly  interest  the  reader.  The  external 
covering  of  the  foot  may  be  divided  into  four  parts ;  namely,  the 
wall,  bars,  sole,  and  frog.  The  external  portion,  or  wall,  serves  to 
defend  the  sensitive  tissues  within.  The  wall,  or  hoof,  is  composed 
of  small  filaments,  or  hollow  tubes,  consolidated  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  preserve  their  canals  distinct.  These  canals  constitute  the  ex- 
crementitious  outlets  of  the  hoof,  from  which  morbid  materials  find 
an  outlet,  and  in  these  canals  are  found  the  vessels  by  which  horn 
is  secreted  or  produced.  The  small  vessels  arising  from  the  vas- 
cular and  nervous  tissues  of  the  foot  proper  enter,  also,  into  these 
canals.  The  bars  are  a  continuation  of  the  external  portion  just 
described.  They  form  an  angle  at  the  heels,  which  terminates  to- 
ward the  toe.  They  thus  serve  to  give  strength  and  durability  to 
the  hoof,  and  also  to  prevent  contraction  at  the  heels.  When 
these  bars  are  cut  away  or  demolished  by  means  of  the  butteris, 
then  the  foot  often  goes  to  "rack  and  ruin."  The  sole  is  much 
more  elastic  than  the  crust,  and  is  a  medium  of  the  sensitive  fac- 
ulty, through  which,  together  with  its  powers  of  electricity,  the 
percussion  of  the  foot  against  the  ground  is  regulated.  The  frog 
\s  much  more  elastic  than  either  of  the  parts  just  described.  Any 
unnecessary  paring  of  the  same  is  a  monstrous  evil. 

On  the  internal  portion  of  the  above-named  parts  we  find  a 
beautiful  set  of  leaves  (laminse),  resembling  those  found  in  the 
under  surface  of  a  mushroom.  Their  number  is  said  to  be  five 
hundred.  These  articulate  with  a  like  number  given  off  from  the 
sensitive  tissues  of  the  foot  proper,  each  lamina?  having  two  sides 
and  an  edge,  from  a  series  of  articulations,  numbering  three  thou- 


350  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

sand.  The  whole  °urface  of  these  articulations  measures  four 
square  feet ;  hence,  the  horse  having  four  feet,  his  body  rests  on 
sixteen  square  feet  of  surface,  all  contained  within  his  hoofs. 

The  reader  will  probably  realize  that  a  knowledge  of  the  ana> 
omy  and  physiology  of  the  foot  is  absolutely  necessary,  in  orde: 
to  practice,  with  any  degree  of  success,  the  art  of  shoeing.  How 
is  this  knowledge  to  be  obtained?  Can  it  be  furnished  at  the 
forge,  in  the  blacksmith-  shop  ?  Can  such  a  complicated  piece  of 
mechanism  be  thoroughly  understood  by  the  craftsmen  of  the 
forge,  who  have  never  made  the  subject  one  of  scientific  inquiry? 

Let  it  not  be  understood  that  I  am  in  a  fault-finding  mood. 
The  fact  is,  the  husbandmen  of  this  country  have  failed  to  put 
their  shoulders  to  the  wheel  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and 
endowing  veterinary  schools  in  this  country,  and  if  blacksmiths 
and  "vets"  do  not  understand  the  anatomy  of  horses  feet,  the  for- 
mer, who  have  vast  interests  at  stake,  must  come  in  for  a  share  of 
the  blame.  On  the  other  hand,  we  are  disposed  to  be  charitable 
toward  blacksmiths;  and,  taking  into  consideration  the  unyielding 
nature  of  our  paved  streets,  and  the  rough  ground  over  which 
aome  poor  animals  are  forced  to  travel,  the  wonder  is,  that  theii 
feet  are  not  oftener  diseased. 

Laminitis  ("Fevee  in  the  Feet,"  or  "Feet  Founder"). 

Laminitis,  or  fever  in  the  feet,  is  an  acute  affection,  confined  to 
the  sensitive  tissues  within  the  hoof.  It  is  one  of  the  most  pain- 
ful maladies  to  which  the  horse  is  subject. 

Symptoms. — It  manifests  itself,  very  frequently,  after  a  long 
drive  or  race.  The  horse  may  be  put  into  the  stable  at  night  all 
right.  In  the  morning  he  is  observed  to  be  all  in  a  heap,  as  the 
saying  is — his  flesh  quivering,  pulse  very  active,  respirations  quick 
and  jerking ;  the  flanks  are  tucked  up,  the  back  is  roached,  and  the 
fore-feet  are  sent  forward,  so  that  the  animal  treads  on  his  heels; 
and,  when  compelled  to  move,  he  endeavors  to  throw  the  weight 
of  his  body  on  the  hind  legs.  He  is  thirsty  and  feverish,  but  has 
no  appetite.  All  appearances  about  him  indicate  that  he  suffers 
great  pain.  When  a  hand  is  placed  upon  the  fore-feet,  they  feel 
unnaturally  hot.  Such  are  the  most  prominent  symptoms  of 
laminitis,  or  fever  in  the  feet. 


LAMENESS,   FROM   VARIOUS  CAUSES.  351 

Treatment. — The  principal  objects  to  be  accomplished  are,  to 
keep  the  feet  cool  by  frequent  sponging  with  cold  water;  next,  the 
bowels  must  be  kept  loose  my  means  of  bran-mashes,  or,  if  neces- 
sary, a  dose  of  Glauber  salts — dose,  twelve  ounces,  dissolved  in  a 
pint  of  warm  water,  to  which  add  half  a  gill  of  syrup — and  an 
occasional  enema  of  soap-suds,  and  also  a  few  doses  of  fluid  extract 
of  gelseminum,  say  two  drachms  night  and  morning.  This  is  the 
kind  of  treatment  that  the  author  has  found  most  successful  dur- 
ing a  long  period  of  practice. 


| 


■:,' 


EXTREMITY  OP  ONE  OF  THE  FORB   LIMB3. 


Explanation.— «,  The  region  of  the  coronet;  6,  The  sensitive  laminse;  c,  The  point  of  the 
toe  ;  d,  The  quarters ;  e.  The  heel ;  /,  The  sole  ;  g,  The  solar  border. 

Many  who  treat  such  diseases  are  apt  to  do  too  much.  Youatt, 
and  several  other  writers,  recommend  repeated  bleedings,  blisters, 
and  purges,  and  even  tell  us  to  bleed  in  the  chronic  stage.  This 
is  all  wrong,  and  such  outrageous  treatment  is  almost  sure  to  end 
in  suppuration,  founder,  or  ruin.  (See  article  on  Inflammation.) 
The  patient  must  be  kept  at  rest,  and,  if  he  should  lie  down,  must 
not  be  disturbed.  I  never  remove  the  shoes,  because  the  patient 
is  in  so  much  pain  that  he  can  not  stand  on  the  frog  or  sole,  and 
the  shoes  are  a  protection  to  the  frog. 


352  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Sand-crack. 

"  The  name  of  sand-crack  seems  of  questionable  application.  It 
J3,  evidently,  a  compound  of  the  word  sand  and  crack,  as  though 
it  denoted  a  crack  with  sand  in  it,  or  a  crack  occurring  in  a  sandy 
country,  or  in  a  dry,  sandy  season,  which  several  derivations  have 
been  ascribed  to  the  term.  May  not  the  word  sand  admit  of  res- 
olution into  its  primitive  signification,  and  mean  in  this,  as  in 
other  instances,  a  sundered  crack?  A  sand-crack  may  be  defined 
to  be  a  longitudinal  division  in  the  fibers  of  the  wall  of  the  hoof, 
amounting  to  a  flaw  simply,  or  else  to  a  cleft  or  fissure  through 
the  substance  of  the  horn. 

The  direction  of  the  crack  is  slanting,  from  above  downward, 
and  from  behind  forward,  following  the  course  of  the  fibers  of  the 
noof.  A  sand-crack  in  the  side  of  the  wall  slants  more  than  one 
in  front,  owing  to  the  greater  obliquity  of  the  course  of  the  horny 
fibers,  as  we  proceed  from  the  toe  to  the  heel  of  the  foot. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  sand-crack,  quarter  sand-crack  and  toe 
sand-crack,  the  former  occurring  in  the  fore,  the  latter  in  the  hind 
foot.  At  least  this  is  generally  the  case.  It  is  rare  to  find  the 
reverse,  though  there  are  occasions  on  which  we  meet  with  sand- 
crack  in  the  toe  of  the  fore-foot  and  the  quarter  of  the  hind  foot. 
It  is  possible  for  cracks  to  occur  in  other  parts  of  the  hoof;  but 
in  these  two  situations  it  is  that  veritable  sand-crack  occurs,  and 
there  are  here,  as  we  shall  find  hereafter,  special  causes  for  theii 
production.     Let  us  first  consider 

Quarter  Crack. 

The  situation  of  this  crack  is  the  slanting  line  of  the  wall  of 
the  hoof,  directly  opposed  to  the  extremity  of  the  wing  of  the 
coffin  bone ;  and  it  is  oftener  found  in  the  inner  than  in  the  outer 
quarter,  added  to  which  the  hoof  in  which  sand-crack  occurs  is» 
always  a  contracted  one,  quarter  sand-crack,  no  more  than  toe 
sand-crack,  never  happening  in  a  hoof  disposed  to  obliquity  and 
flatness.  The  same  description  of  foot  which  is  predisposed  to 
contraction  is,  for  the  same  reasons,  predisposed  to  sand-crack. 
There  is  an  obvious  connection  between  contraction  and  quarter 
sand-crack.  The  light,  near-the-ground  stepping  horse,  with 
strong,  narrow,  upright  hoofs,  will  be  equally  likely,  under  cer- 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  363 

tain  conditions,  to  have  the  heels  of  his  fore  hoofs  becoming  con- 
tracted, and  exhibiting  quarter  sand-cracks.  Hot  stables  conduce 
to  this,  but,  more  still,  hot  climates.  Hurtrel-  d'Arboval  informs 
us  that  at  the  time  the  French  army  was  in  Egypt,  their  horses 
were  continually  having  sand-cracks;  and  he  adds  that  long 
voyages  on  board  of  ship  are,  on  some  occasions,  attended  with 
like  results. 

The  proximate  cause  of  quarter  sand-crack  is,  then,  contraction. 
The  horn,  from  dryness,  or  other  cause,  rendered  cracky  and 
fragile,  breaks  at  the  quarter  of  the  wall,  from  being  at  that 
part  bent  across  the  edge  of  the  ala  of  the  coffin  bone,  during  the 
curving  in  of  the  heel,  the  result  of  contraction ;  and  this  oftenest 
happens  to  the  inner  quarter,  from  its  being  the  thinner  and 
weaker  one,  as  well  as  from  being-  the  one  which  is  the  first  and 
most  disposed  to  contract — not  that  sand-crack  is  the  necessary 
consequence  of  contraction,  but  that  contraction  becomes  a  neces- 
sary precursor  to  sand-crack.  If  this  were  not  the  explanation 
of  the  case,  sand-crack  would  be  as  likely  to  occur  in  any  part  of 
the  wall  as  at  the  quarter,  and  on  the  outer  as  often  as  on  the 
inner  side  of  the  wall.  This  likewise  accounts  for  the  compara- 
tive unfrequency  of  quarter  sand-crack  at  the  present  day  among 
our  nag  and  cavalry  horses,  since  that  which  has  tended  to  dimin- 
ish the  frequency  of  contraction  has  had  the  same  effect  in  regard 
to  the  occurrence  of  sand-crack.  Greater  attention  to  shoeing, 
and  increased  care  about  the  condition  of  the  hoof  itself,  has,  no 
doubt,  had  a  very  beneficial  effect  in  the  prevention  both  of  con- 
traction and  sand-crack. 

The  origir  of  sand-crack  is  usually  sudden,  both  in  the  fore 
and  hind  feet/  though  in  the  former  case,  from  its  situation  in  the 
inner  quarter,  a  part  not  exposed  to  transient  view,  it  is  possible 
for  a  crack  to  exist  for  some  time,  unless  lameness  happens  to 
arise  from  it  without  being  discovered.  The  crack  first  takes  place 
cfi rough  the  superior  or  coronary  border  of  the  hoof,  that  being 
composed  of  newly-formed  horn,  and,  consequently,  thin  and 
ri-agile.  Quickly  it  extends  downward,  through  the  thickest  part 
of  the  wall,  stopping,  as  it  does  in  some  instances,  at  least  for  a 
time,  half  way  down,  and  afterward  reaching  nearly  or  quite  to 
the  bottom. 

Sand-crack  is  either  penetrant  or  non-penetrant.  It  is  usually 
mmetraut,  by  which  we  mean  the  crack  extends  completely  through 
23 


304  DADK'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERf. 

the  (a.  Knqss  of  the  hoof,  and  produces  lesion  of  the  sensitive  parts 
underneath  the  horn,  giving  rise  to  some  little  hemorrhage  :'n  the 
first  instance,  and  subsequently  to  more  or  less  inflammation — 
occasionally,  even  to  suppuration,  depending,  of  course,  on  the 
extent  and  nature  and  duration  of  the  lesion,  as  well  as  on  any 
treatment,  or  aggravation  from  non-treatment,  it  may  have  re- 
cc  ived  since  being  occasioned.  When  the  crack  does  not  extend 
through  the  substance  of  the  wall — which  it  sometimes  does  not 
at  first,  though  it  may  do  so  afterward — it  may  be  said  to  be  non- 
penetrant;  and  this,  when  it  happens,  seems  to  be  referable  to 
a  sort  of  natural  fusion  there  certainly  exists  between  the  solid 
horn,  as  it  descends  from  its  secreting  gland,  (the  coronet,)  and 
the  horny  laminae  (new  matter),  which  become  glued  to  it  in  its 
course  downward.  It.  is  in  this  uniting  horny  medium  that  seedy 
toe  commences  and  progresses. 

Lameness  is  the  usual  accompaniment  of  penetrant  sand-crack, 
but  not  the  invariable  one.  When  penetrant  it  is  said  to  arise 
from  the  sensitive  laminae  getting  pinched  between  the  sides  of 
the  crack.  However  this  may  be,  inflammation  following  the 
lesion  has  certainly  its  share  in  causing  pain  during  action.  In 
general,  the  lameness  does  not  amount  to  much,  nor  is  it  of  long 
duration,  provided  the  sand-crack  receive  proper  and  timely  at- 
tention ;  but  if  the  crack  is  not  heeded,  action  of  the  foot  will  much 
aggravate  the  malady,  and  end  in  lameness  increased  so  much  as 
to  forbid  further  use  being  made  of  the  animal. 

Toe  Sand-crack. 

Occurring  in  the  hind  foot,  as  this  crack  almost  invariably 
does,  occupying  a  different  situation  in  the  hoof,  and  arising  alto- 
gether from  a  different  cause,  toe  sand-crack  may  be  regarded  as 
almost  a  distinct  affection. 

The  subject  of  it  is  not  the  light  horse,  but  the  heavy  one  --the 
cart  and  wagon-horse,  the  dray-horse,  the  latter  especially;  aud 
in  particular,  I  believe,  in  paved  cities,  they  are  the  sufferers  from 
this  disease.  I  say  '  sufferers,'  because  it  is  only  those  veterinary 
surgeons  whose  practice  lies  among  horses  of  this  description  that 
have  any  conception  of  the  amount  of  pain  and  irritation  with 
which  sand-crack — simple  as  it  may  seem  to  those  who  are  in  the 
habit  of  meeting  quarter  crack  only — is  found  to  be  accon  ;onied. 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VAiciOU*  tfAOSES.  356 

The  cause  of  toe  sand-crack  is  violence.  Shoeing,  also,  may 
have  something  to  do  in  its  production.  The  horses  who  are  the 
subjects  of  it  are  those  employed  in  laborious  and  straining  draft. 
The  toe  of  the  hind  foot  is  the  grand  fulcrum  through  which  the 
hind  limbs,  the  propellers  of  the  body,  exert  their  power;  and  it 
is  in  some  violent  and  forcible  effort  that  the  hind  hoof,  strained 
as  it  is  to  its  uttermost,  and  in  particular  at  the  toe,  splits,  com- 
monly first  at  the  coronet,  the  same  as  in  the  fore-foot,  where  the 
horn,  but  newly-formed,  is  then  unresisting,  the  crack  subse- 
quently extending  gradually  down  the  wall,  even  as  far  as  the 
point  of  the  toe.  Digging  the  tip  of  the  toe  into  the  ground,  or 
stamping  it  hard  down  upon  the  pavement,  and  especially  when 
this  stress  upon  the  forepart  of  the  wall  is  at  all  times  promoted 
by  high  caulkings  to  the  shoe,  must  certainly,  one  would  think, 
be  the  main  producer  of  toe  sand-crack — an  opinion  still  further 
favored  by  the  observation  which  has  been  made  of  shaft-horses 
in  drays  being  more  subject  to  the  accident  than  trace-horses. 
Still,  however,  for  all  this,  it  behooves  me  to  say  that,  with  the 
best  judges  of  such  matters,  the  point  is  one  not  yet  set  free  from 
doubt  and  difference  of  thinking.  Short  and  upright  pasterns, 
with  clubby  prominent  hoofs,  indicate  a  predisposition  to  toe  sand- 
crack,  the  disease  being  in  no  instances  seen  in  flat,  shelvy,  ob- 
lique hoofs.  It  is  said  sand-crack  may  originate  in  tread.  Un- 
doubtedly any  lesion  of  the  coronary  body,  sufficient  to  injure  or 
destroy  its  secretory  apparatus,  may  occasion  imperfect  or  morbid 
formation  of  horn,  or  loss  of  horn  altogether ;  but  I  do  not  believe 
this  to  be  a  very  common  cause  of  sand-crack. 

The  consequences  of  sand-crack  in  the  hind  hoof  are,  as  I  have 
before  hinted,  apt  to  be  of  a  much  more  serious  nature  than  any 
usually  arising  from  a  quarter  sand-crack.  Whether  the  crack 
extend  to  the  bottom  of  the  wall  or  not,  being  uniformly  of  the 
penetrant  description,  lameness,  to  greater  or  less  degree,  is  the 
invariable  result.  And  when  the  fissure  does  reach  down  to  the 
toe,  the  wall  opens  and  exposes  the  lamina?,  probably  the  whole 
way  from  the  coronet  downward,  the  consequence  of  which  is  in- 
flammation and  suppuration  of  those  parts,  and  sometimes  even 
mortification  and  sloughing  of  them ;  and  not  of  them  alone,  but 
of  the  bone  to  which  they  are  attached  as  well,  which  not  unfre- 
quently  runs  into  a  state  of  caries,  ending  in  defalcation  of  sub- 
stance, to  be  filled  up  by  the  effusion  of  callus,  which  usually 


356  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

terminates  in  exostosis,  coated  with  some  tissue  very  imperfectly 
representing  the  original  laminated  structure. 

Mr.  Braby,  the  intelligent  veterinary  surgeon  to  Messrs.  Bar- 
clay and  Perkins'  establishment,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  much 
of  the  information  I  possess  on  this  part  of  my  subject,  has  had 
many  cases  of  this  description,  one  of  which,  of  extraordinary  char- 
acter, I  shall  relate  here.  One  of  his  dray  hordes  had  suffered  long 
and  severely  from  toe  sand-crack  in  one  hind  foot,  but,  at  length, 
had  recovered,  and  returned  to  work.  Some  time  afterward,  how- 
ever, during  the  season  of  influenza,  he  was  attacked  with  a  vio- 
lent laryngitis,  which  increased  to  a  degree  to  call  for  the  operation 
of  tracheotomy,  to  save  him  from  suffocation.  Notwithstanding 
this  temporary  salvation,  however,  the  patient,  in  the  end,  suc- 
cumbed to  the  disease.  His  post-mortem  examination  became 
doubly  attractive,  owing  to  the  circumstance  of  the  long-standing 
and  obstinate  sand-crack  he  had  suffered  from  heretofore,  and  the 
result  in  this  latter  respect  proved  extremely  interesting.  The 
coffin  bone,  along  its  front,  occupying  the  line  of  the  surface  be- 
tween the  coronal  process  and  the  toe,  exhibited  a  channel  or  loss 
of  substance  half  an  inch  in  breadth,  and  fully  the  same  in  depth, 
thereby  robbing  it  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch  of  its  solid  diameter. 
This,  of  course,  left  the  bone  considerably  weakened,  the  result  of 
which  subsequently  was,  transverse  fracture  in  two  places,  the 
fractures  commencing  upon  the  articulatory  surface,  whence  they 
extended  directly  crosswise  through  the  middle  of  its  body,  so  as 
to  become  apparent  upon  its  concave  surface  underneath.  In 
addition  to  this,  growing  from  the  laminated  interior  of  the  wall 
of  the  hoof,  opposite  to  the  middle  or  deepest  part  of  the  channel 
in  the  coffin  bone,  was  a  projection  of  hard,  horny,  callous  sub- 
stance, having  a  covering  of  imperfectly-formed  horny  lamin:B. 
At  the  time  this  horse  was  suffering  in  the  greatest  degree  from 
this  extraordinary  product  of  sand-crack,  constitutional  irritation 
ran  so  high  as  even  to  create  alarm  for  the  animal's  life.  The 
treatment  of  sand-crack,  whether  it  be  in  the  quarter  or  in  the  toe, 
will  have  to  be  conducted  upon  principles  applicable  to  both  fornix 
of  the  disease,  though  one  must  be  regarded  as  of  much  more  con- 
sequence than  the  other.  The  treatment  of  quarter  sand-crack, 
generally  speaking,  is  but  comparatively  a  simple  affair;  indeed, 
so  lightly  is  it  looked  upon  by  horsemen  in  general,  that  we  should 
run  some  risk  of  their  displeasure,  and  our  own  reputation  as 


lamem:ss,  from  various  causes.  337 

well,  were  we  to  talk  about  laying  a  horse  up  for  so  trifling  an 
accident.  Nay,  some  horses,  with  non-penetrant  sand-cracks,  or 
with  sand-cracks  that  have  been  penetrant,  but  have  become  horned 
over,  showing  little  or  no  lameness,  continue  to  work  on  without 
evincing  any  pain  or  inconvenience  from  them.  Whether  a  horse 
be  lame  or  not,  however,  should  he  have  a  sand-crack,  and  we  be 
c<  'Usui  ted  about  it,  it  becomes  our  duty  to  arrest  the  extension  of 
ihe  <rack  so  long  as  it  be  but  partial;  and,  besides  that,  to  take 
m  ?;isiires  for  the  cure  or  permanent  removal  of  the  crack.  The 
owner  of  the  horse  should  be  given  to  understand  that  no  flaw  or 
crack  in  the  hoof  can,  by  possibility,  unite  the  same  as  a  wound 
in  a  vital  part  does,  but  must,  as  the  saying  is,  grow  down;  that 
is,  must  be  replaced  by  new  horn,  and  be  itself,  by  degrees,  re- 
newed, as  it  continues  to  come  under  the  operation  of  the  drawing- 
knife  every  time  the  horse  is  fresh  shod ;  so  that,  in  fact,  the  cure, 
or  obliteration  of  the  crack,  is  necessarily  a  work  of  some  monthsj 
though  the  lameness  may  be  cured  in  as  many  hours  or  days. 

Paring  out  the  crack,  the  shoe  being  taken  off  the  foot,  is  the 
first  thing  to  be  done.  The  cutting  cautiously  away  of  its  rugged 
edges,  and  the  scooping  out,  with  a  light  hand,  (probably  with 
the  back  of  the  drawing-knife,)  of  its  cavity,  will  enable  us  to 
examine  into  the  condition  of  it.  Should  there  be  no  lesion  or 
exposure  of  the  laminae  detectable,  nothing  further  will  be  needed 
from  the  drawing-knife  than  the  cleaning  out  of  the  crack. 

Firing  the  crack  is  the  next  operation.  Cross-firing  will  be 
advisable  below  or  above,  or  in  both  situations,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances. So  long  as  the  crack  has  not  reached  to  the  bottom 
of  the  wall,  it  will  be  requisite,  with  an  ordinary  firing-iron,  at  a 
red  heat,  to  burn  a  deep  but  short  fissure,  or  'mark/  across  its 
lower  extremity;  and  whether  a  similar  operation  be  required 
across  the  superior  termination  of  the  crack,  must  depend  upon 
its  extension  or  not  through  the  horn  at  the  coronet.  If  there  Le 
any  interval  of  sound  horn  between  the  hair  and  the  crack,  of 
sufficient  breadth  and  substance  to  bear  firing,  a  very  slight  burn 
may  do  good.  In  all  cases  it  is  the  practice  to  finish  the  firing 
with  running  the  sharp  edge  of  the  iron  down  the  crack ;  and  this 
ceitainly  proves  beneficial  in  destroying  any  tendency  there  may 
be  (supposing  the  laminae  to  have  become  denuded)  to  abnormal 
action,  as  well  to  stimulate  any  vascular  parts  exposed  to  issue 
horny  matter  to  cover  in  the  bottom  of  the  crack. 


358  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Binding  up  the  crack  is  a  good  practice  after  firing.  With  a 
wax-end  of  sufficient  length  (such  as  shoemakers  use)  bind  round 
the  wall  of  the  hoof,  so  that  any  tar  or  pitch-plaster  it  may  be 
deemed  advisable  to  place  in  or  upon  the  crack  may  be  maintained 
there ;  at,  the  same  time  the  hoof  itself  is,  by  t:  e  tight  binding 
restricted  in  any  tendency  it  may  have  to  expand,  and  thereb) 
open  wider  the  crack. 

A  bar-shoe  is  the  preferable  one  for  a  sand-cracked  foot.  By 
it,  the  bearing  being  taken  off  1rhat  part  of  the  wall  which  is  oppo- 
site to  the  crack,  the  pressure  and  jar,  so  continually  splitting 
afresh  the  new-formed  horn  over  the  crack  at  the  coronet,  is  put 
a  stop  to,  the  formation  of  an  undivided  coronary  horny  band  be- 
ins-  the  commencement  of  the  radical  cure  of  the  sand-crack.  As 
I  said  before,  horn  being  an  inorganic  substance,  no  union  what- 
ever can  take  place  in  the  crack  itself.  Permanent  cure  can  be 
effected  only  through  obliteration  by  the  growing  out  or  down  of 
the  crack.  This/I  repeat,  is  the  reason  why  a  sand-crack  occupies 
so  long  a  time  in  its  removal ;  though,  by  way  of  compensation,  a 
horse  is  not  kept  out  of  work  while  cure  is  being  effected ;  for, 
after  the  crack  has  been  bound  up,  and  the  hoof  shod  with  a  bar- 
shoe,  it  is  quite  surprising  to  find  how  soundly  and  firmly  the 
animal  sometimes  steps  upon  the  foot  of  which  he  had  but  now 
been  so  lame. 

The  treatment  adopted  by  the  late  Mr.  Read,  V.  S.,  of  Cred- 
iton,  carries  the  same  object  into  execution,  through  a  different 
method  of  procedure.  This,  as  detailed  in  the  volume  of  the 
'Veterinarian'  for  1848,  consists  in  simply  isolating  the  fissure 
within  the  segment  of  a  circle,  by  means  of  an  ordinary  firing- 
iron.  The  best  plan  is  to  operate  with  the  heel  of  the  iron,  be- 
ginning at  the  coronet  with  either  extremity  of  the  segment,  and 
bringing  the  iron  to  a  finish  at  the  center.  The  iron  should  be  at 
a  strong  red  heat,  and  be  carried  through  the  horny  crust  until  it 
tDuches  lightly  the  sensible  laminae,  and  so  throughout  the  entire 
semicircle.  As  you  recede  from  the  coronet,  so,  in  proportion, 
you  will  require  to  deepen  the  fissure  in  the  crust.  The  iron 
ought  to  be  applied  every  week  or  ten  days.  The  first  effect  de- 
sirable tc  bt,  produced  is  a  bulging  of  the  crust  around  the  coronet 
within  the  segment,  and  when  once  this  is  fairly  established,  the 
cure  may  be  said  to  be  effected,  it  being  seldom  necessary  to  apply 
the  cantery  afterward.     The  old  method  of  making  a  'ine  with 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  35iJ 

the  iron  across  the  fissure  can  not  prevent  the  opening  and  closure 
of  the  fissure  during  the  action  of  the  foot;  whereas,  isolating  the 
fissure  (or  part  of  it)  within  the  segment  of  a  circle  completely 
effects  the  object.  No  tar-cord  or  strapping,  or  alteration  of  the 
shoe,  is  required  to  limit  the  motion  of  the  crust,  all  motion  being 
suspended  within  the  segment,  and  especially  after  bulging  has 
commenced. 

The  objects  of  treatment,  after  what  has  been  stated,  will  clearly 
appear  to  be,  first,  to  place  the  hoof  in  such  a  condition  as  shall 
not  render  it  liable  to  crack  again;  second,  to  remove  that  state 
of  it  which,  in  the  first  instance,  disposed  it  to  crack,  if  it  were 
not  of  itself  the  immediate  cause  of  cracking.  The  way  in  which 
the  first  object  is  effected  has  been  already  shown,  and  when  this 
has  become  accomplished,  past  all  risk  of  return,  we  may  set  about 
to  bring  into  effect  the  second.  A  bar-shoe,  from  its  taking  the 
bearing  off  the  quarters  and  placing  it  upon  the  frog,  will,  in  a 
measure,  give  facility  to  what  we  now  are  desirous  of  preventing ; 
namely,  the  expansion  of  the  heels  of  the  foot ;  but  a  tip  (pro- 
viding it  can  be  worn,  which  it  frequently  may,  with  great  ad- 
vantage, after  a  bar-shoe)  will  bring  about  greater  reform  still — 
will,  in  fact,  by  persistence  in  its  use,  bring  about,  in  time,  that 
improved  form  of  hoof  which  will  be  no  more  liable  to  quarter 
sand-crack. 

The  treatment  of  toe  sand-crack  is,  in  some  respects,  a  different 
affair  from  that  of  quarter  sand-crack.  This  disease  is  not  only 
different  in  its  relative  situation  as  regards  other  parts  of  the  foot, 
but  it  arises,  as  we  have  seen,  from  a  totally  different  causation. 
When  once  it  has  occurred,  it  becomes,  compared  with  the  other, 
a  serious  affair.  The  horse  is  lame,  too  lame  to  continue  his  work, 
probably,  and  we  have  a  penetrant  crack  to  deal  with,  extending 
all,  or  nearly  all,  the  way  from  the  coronet  to  the  toe,  discharging 
blood,  or,  perhaps,  matter  of  some  ichorous,  offensive  desciiption, 
plainly  calling  upon  us  for,  not  binding  up,  etc.,  as  in  the  former 
case,  but  for  opening,  cleansing,  and  dressing  the  same.  The  shoe 
being  taken  off,  let  the  crack  be  pared  out,  and  freed  from  all 
horny  rags  and  asperities,  and  laid  completely  open  to  view,  so 
that  the  bottom  can  be  inspected  and  dressed  with  whatever  may 
be  deemed  requisite.  In  fact,  when  once  the  fissure  is  dilated  into 
a  clean  and  open  channel  by  the  drawing-knife,  warm  baths  or 
poultices,  or  dressings  of  any  kind,  as  may  become  necessary,  are 


^60  BAUD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

now  applicable,  the  case  being  in  this  stage  no  more  than  tie  of 
dilated  sinus  in  the  foot,  similar  to  what  might,  in  another  -ntua- 
tion,  be  called  quittor.  As  with  the  quarter  sand-crack,  thfi  cine 
will,  of  course,  be  tedious  in  its  duration,  since  wre  know  that  all 
complete  repair  can  only  come  from  the  coronet.  The  sensitive 
laminae  having  the  power  of  secreting  horny  laminae,  may,  as  in 
the  quarter  crack,  issue  a  sort  of  horny  covering-in  of  the  bottom 
of  the  fissure ;  but  fissure  or  cleft  will  ever  remain  so  long  as  an 
integral  formation  of  horn  does  not  grow  down  from  the  source  of 
secretion. 

Whenever  the  horse  is  in  a  condition  for  work,  a  bar-shoe,  so 
made  that  at  the  toe  the  sides  of  the  shoe  remain  unjoined  together, 
an  interval  being  left  of  sufficient  width  to  receive  the  crack  in 
front  of  the  hoof,  is,  perhaps,  the  best.  Binding  the  hoof  up  with 
circles  of  wax-end,  as  in  the  case  of  quarter  sand-crack,  with  some 
plaster  or  dressing  underneath  it,  will  also  now  become  advisable. 
It  will  restrict  the  spreading  inclination  of  the  hoof,  as  well  as 
keep  dirt  and  wet  out  of  the  crack.  Repetition  of  this,  and  the 
continuance  of  the  bar-shoe,  will  be  required  so  long  as  there  ap- 
pears any  risk  of  an  extension  or  renewal  of  the  crack.'"* 

The  diseases  of  the  hoof  here  alluded  to  are  very  apt  to  occur  in 
horses  whose  walls  of  the  hoof  are  thin  and  brittle.  They  are,  to 
a  certain  extent,  non-elastic,  and,  therefore,  do  not  ward  off  the 
necessary  amount  of  concussion  when  the  animal  is  traveling  over 
hard  roads.  At  the  same  time  there  is  always  a  liability  to  incip- 
ient and  permanent  contraction  in  such  hoof.  More  especially  is 
this  the  case  when  the  foot  is  mutilated  by  paring  or  cutting  away 
the  bars  (the  main  stages  or  supports  which  prevent  the  heels 
approximating).  These  are  the  kind  of  feet  on  which  the  but- 
teris-knife  and  rasp  should  be  used  with  great  caution ;  for,  being 
naturally  weak,  and  perhaps  congenitally  defective  in  the  function 
of  secreting  horn,  and  the  necessary  amount  of  moisture  to  keep 
the  part  pliant,  any  unnecessary  tinkering  with  such  tools  is  inad- 
missible. Such  hoofs  lack  moisture;  therefore  they  should  be 
well  soaked,  night  and  morning,  in  warm  water ;  afterward  wiped 
dry,  and  then  smeared  with  a  portion  of  the  following : 

No.  5",  Neats-foot  oil 8  oz. 

Kerosene 4  oz. 

Lamp-black 1   table-spoonful. 

*  London  "Veterinarian." 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES. 


361 


Mix  well,  and  apply  twice  daily,  by  means  of  a  common  varnish- 
brush. 

Very  many  diseases  of  the  feet,  which  are  of  daily  occurrence, 
might  be  prevented  by  proper  attention  to  the  feet.  "  No  foot,  no 
horse ;"  hence  the  feet  need  to  be  kept  as  free  from  filth  as  other 
parts  of  the  body.  I  think  that  a  great  majority  of  English 
grooms  pay  as  much,  if  not  more,  attention  to  horses  feet  than  to 
other  parts  of  the  body,  and  thus  many  forms  of  foot  lameness  are 
avoided. 

Curvature  and  Disease  of  the  Spinl  ("Sway  Back," 

"Hollow  Back"). 

The  annexed  engraving,  represents  a  case  of  curvature  of  the 
spine  in  a  downward  direction,  known  in  stable  language  as  hol- 
low back.  It  usually,  when  it  makes  its  appearance,  occurs  in 
aged  horses,  and  probably  arises  from  putting  too  much  weight 
co  the  animal's  back. 


SECTION  OF  THE   SPINE. 


It  will  be  observed  that  two  of  the  superior  spinous  processes 
of  the  vertebrae  are  united  (anchylosed),  and  ossific  deposits  are 
thrown  out  on  the  surfaces  of  the  spine.  On  the  lower  part,  be- 
neath the  diseased  spine,  a  cleft  is  seen,  showing  that  there  is  an 
incomplete  dislocation,  and  the  capsular  ligament  was  probably 
dislocated  or  torn. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader  to  know,  if  he  does  not 
already,  that  the  bones,  like  other  parts  of  the  body,  are  composed 
of  arteries,  veins,  absorbent  vessels,  nerves,  and  a  cellular  texture. 
They  are  endowed  with  vitality,  are  nourished,  grow,  waste,  and 
are  repaired,  and  undergo  various  mutations,  according  to  the  age 
of  the  animal  ;  and  they  are  subject  to  disease  analagous  to  the 


362  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERi. 

soft  parts.  To  the  phosphate  of  lime,  which  is,  more  or  less,  dis- 
tributed in  their  texture,  they  owe  their  solidity;  and  perhaps  it 
is  to  the  same  earthy  substance  that  the  difference  in  their  vital 
properties,  and  in  their  diseases  from  those  of  the  rest  of  the  body, 
is  to  be  referred.  In  fact,  this  particular  organization  and  inferior 
vitality  of  the  bones  are  generally  supposed  to  account  for  the 
small  number,  peculiar  character,  and  general  slow  progress  of 
their  diseases. 

Treatment. — So  soon  as  a  horse  shows  any  symptom  of  undue 
curvature  of  the  spine,  he  must  not  be  used  under  the  saddle  ;  but, 
provided  he  can  work,  he  may  be  used  lightly  in  a  buggy.  Ii 
unfit  for  work,  the  owner  knows  what  is  best  to  do  with  him.  I 
should  give  an  animal  afflicted  with  this  disease  a  wine-glassful  of 
cod-liver  oil,  two  or  three  times  per  week,  and  one  table-spoonful 
of  flour  of  bone,  every  night,  in  the  food.  If  this  article  can  not 
be  procured,  substitute  for  it  phosphate  of  lime. 

Osteo  Porosis  (known  as  Big  Head  and  Big  Jaw). 

The  terms  big  head  and  big  jaw  are  used  by  husbandmen  and 
others  in  Ohio,  and,  indeed,  throughout  the  Great  "West  and  South, 
to  designate  a  disease  of  the  bony  structure  of  the  horse — a  disease 
about  which  very  little  of  a  reliable  character  has  ever  been  said 
or  written ;  yet  the  subject  is  one  of  great  importance  to  the  peo- 
ple of  this  country,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  evil  is  one  of 
alarming  proportions ;  and  should  the  disease  multiply  in  a  ratio 
equal  to  that  of  the  past  few  years,  it  will  be  a  terrible  blow  to  the 
laudable  and  hitherto  profitable  enterprise  of  raising  colts  in  sec- 
tions where  this  disease  prevails. 

We  do  not  wish  to  create  any  unnecessary  alarm,  but  urge  the 
husbandmen  of  the  South  and  South-west  to  give  this  subject 
their  earnest  consideration  ;  for  the  disease  probably  has  an  hered- 
itary origin — is  "  inbred  " — and  that,  as  the  saying  is,  "  constitutes 
the  root  of  the  evil."  The  disease  having  been  pronounced  incur- 
able, our  only  hopes  of  success  in  putting  a  stop  to  its  propaga- 
tion and  development  is,  to  adopt  preventive  measures,  by  reject- 
ing, as  breeders,  all  animals  (sire  and  dam)  that  show  the  least 
predisposition  to  or  for  this  affection. 

Let  the  reader  understand  that  the  disease  itself  is  incurable  in 
so  far  as  the  enlargement,  dilatation,  and  softening  of  the  jaw- 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES. 


3G3 


bones  are  concerned  ;  yet,  like  spavin,  ring-bone,  and  various  other 
diseases,  it  is  accompanied,  in  certain  stages,  by  pain  and  lameness, 
and  our  services  as  physicians  are  only  secured  in  view  of  remov- 
ing this  pain  and  lameness,  so  that  the  animal  may  be  enabled  to 
perform  the  ordinary  equine  duties.  This  is  what  some  persons 
please  to  term  a  cure,  whereas  it  almost  always  happens  that  some 
alteration  in  the  structure  of  the  parts  remains,  which  actually 
renders  the  horse  unsound,  because  he  has  that  about  him  which 
may,  from  overwork  or  other  exciting  causes,  impair  his  useful- 
ness. 


THE  PATELLA,    OB  STIFLE   BUNE. 

This  cut  shows  the  appearance  of  disease  on  articulatory  surfaces  when  the  animal  is  the 

subject  of  Osteo  Porosis,  or  Big  Head. 


As  regards  the  "alarming"  features  of  big  head  or  big  jaw,  we 
would  inform  the  reader  that  almost  every  lame  horse  examined 
by  us,  during  a  period  of  six  months,  in  Ohio,  had  either  one  or 
the  other  jaw  enlarged.  In  some  cases  one  angle  of  the  lower  jaw 
was  the  seat  of  thickening  and  enlargement,  but  among  the  majority 
both  angles  were  affected.  These  remarks  do  not  apply  to  other 
obvious  or  accidental  lamenesses  which  are  constantly  occurring. 

A  short  time  ago  we  visited,  in  company  with  a  practicing  vet- 
erinarian whose  attention  had  never  been  called  to  this  affect  inn, 
three  horses,  the  subjects  of  lameness,  which  was  said  to  be  occa- 
sioned by  eating  Hungarian  grass.  To  the  astonishment  of  the 
parties  concerned,  we  demonstrated  that  they  were  all  the  subjects 
of  enlargements  of  the  lower  jaws.     From  the  history  of  the  cases, 


364  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

and  the  character  of  the  lameness,  it  was  veiy  evident  that  it  was 
of  an  inter-articular  character,  and  this  is  a  pec  uliar  feature  of  this 
affection.  Then,  again,  the  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  jaws 
of  animals  do  not  dilate  nor  enlarge  suddenly,  nor  make  their  ap- 
pearance aii  at  once,  like  a  meteor  in  the  regions  of  space.  The 
affection  is  insidious,  progresses  in  an  almost  imperceptible  manner, 
and  usually  escapes  the  notice  of  those  who  daily  have  charge  of  and 
handle  the  animal,  as  the  following  case,  which  is  selected  from 
among  others,  will  serve  to  illustrate : 

A  few  years  ago  a  gentleman  purchased  what  then  appeared  as 
a  fine  family  horse — a  sorrel  gelding,  aged  five  years.  About  the 
beginning  of  March,  one  year  after  the  purchase,  in  attempting  to 
walk  the  animal  from  one  stable  to  another,  but  a  short  distance 
off,  he  became  suddenly  lame  in  one  of  the  hind  limbs,  low  down, 
toward  the  foot,  and  it  was  found  almost  impossible  to  urge  him 
forward.  Finally,  assistance  was  procured,  and  the  animal  had, 
literally,  to  be  carried  into  a  stable.  Our  services  having  been 
secured,  we  visited  the  sufferer,  and  found  him  standing  on  three 
legs,  the  near  hind  one  being  placed  resting  on  the  toe.  The  parts 
around  the  coronet  were  hot,  and  the  patient  was  very  unwilling 
to  have  the  parts  handled.  He  seemed  to  suffer  much  pain,  was 
breathing  hurriedly,  and  the  pulsations  were  quick  and  wiry.  The 
near  approach  of  any  person  seemed  to  terrify  the  animal,  and  he 
actually  trembled,  from  fear  and  pain,  when  urged  to  move.  On 
making  an  examination  of  the  jaws,  we  found  that  both  angles 
of  the  lower  jaw  were  enlarged  to  about  two  inches  in  thickness. 
This  explained  the  nature  of  the  sudden  and  otherwise  mysterious 
lameness.  The  articulating  surfaces  of  various  bones,  and  the 
bones  themselves,  had  become  diseased,  as  is  often  the  case  in 
big  jaw.  The  owner  assured  us  that  the  horse  had  never  before 
been  lame,  and  he  was  very  much  surprised  to  find  the  lower  jaw 
enlarged. 

Here  the  reader  will  perceive  that  the  animal  had  been  in  the 
owner's  possession  one  year;  had  performed  ordinary  duty,  yet 
was  the  subject  of  a  gradual  enlargement  of  the  jaw  and  a  consti- 
tutional disease,  which  probably  existed,  yet  in  a  slight  degree,  at 
the  time  of  purchase.  Hence  we  contend  that  the  disease,  in  its 
early  stages,  is  of  a  hidden  or  insidious  character,  and  requires  some 
tact  and  knowledge  of  the  subject  in  order  to  detect  it. 

Nature  of  the  disease. — Big  head  and  big  jaw  are    ut  one  form 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES. 


365 


of  disease,  only  located  in  different  parts.  When  the  upper  jaw 
becomes  the  seat  of  affection,  an  enlargement  of  the  facial  bones 
will  be  observed,  and  the  examiner's  attention  will  be  attracted  by 
the  unnatural  appearance  of  the  face.     As  the  disease  progresses, 


ARTICULATING   SURFACE  OF  THE  THIGH    BONE. 

Explanation— 1  J  X,  Articulating  surface  of  the  lower  or  inferior  part  of  the  thigh  bone  occur- 
ring in  the  disease  known  as  Osteo  Porosis,  or  Big  Head.  » 


the  face  looks  more  like  that  of  an  elephant  than  a  horse ;  and  now, 
the  disease  being  incurable,  the  subject  should  mercifully  be  put 
out  of  his  misery.  The  enlargement  of  the  lower  jaw  is  discov- 
ered by  manipulation.  On  removing  the  skin  from  the  sides  of 
the  face  of  such  a  subject,  and  dissecting  the  muscles  and  perios- 
teum (covering  of  bone),  the  bones  appear  to  have  undergone  a 
softening  process,  and  particles  can  be  separated  by  means  of  the 
finger-nails.  At  the  same  time,  if  a  transverse  section  of  any  of 
the  shaft-bones  be  made,  they  will  be  found  to  have  undergone 
structural  changes.  For  example,  they  will  not  only  appear  soft- 
ened, but  honey-combed,  and  many  of  the  laminae  and  cartilagi- 
nous braces  will  have  been  decomposed  or  dissolved,  so  that  the 
bone  looks  like  fibrous  net-work.     In  most  cases,  the  vacuities 


J66  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

and  canals  are  filled  with  material  resembling  soft  cheese,  which 
is  probably  fatty  matter.  This  occasionally  degenerates  into  pus. 
Dr.  Gordon  forwarded  me,  some  time  ago,  the  head  of  a  horse 
who  had  long  been  the  subject  of  this  malady.  The  transverse 
diameter  of  the  bones  of  both  upper  and  lower  jaw  was  very  much 
enlarged ;  the  periosteum  was  very  highly  organized  with  blood- 
vessels; the  bones  were  softened  and  elastic,  and  could  be  easily 
cut  with  a  knife.  On  submitting  them  to  the  acid  test,  earthy 
matter  was  found  in  excess,  and,  by  burning  them,  it  was  found 
that  they  contained  very  little  animal  matter;  hence  we  were  led 
to  infer  that  the  disease  was  one  of  mal-nutrition.  The  articular 
surfaces  of  various  bones,  and  sometimes  all  the  bones  of  the  body, 
are  often  ulcerated  and  studded  with  incrustations.  This  explains 
the  why  and  wherefore  of  the  sudden  and  tormenting  pains  which 
animals  suffer,  and  goes  to  show  how  little  of  benefit  can  be  ex- 
pected from  the  ordinary  treatment,  which  is  principally  directed 
to  the  enlarged  jaws. 

On  removing  these  diseased  cartilages  from  the  articulating 
surfaces  of  the  bones,  the  latter  are  found  to  be  affected— in  fact, 
ulcerated.  In  some  cases  the  ligaments  and  tendons  are  separated 
by  decomposition,  or  necrosis  of  bone,  and  the  animal  "  breaks 
down,"  as  the  saying  is. 

The  subjects  of  this  disease  sometimes  show  lameness  in  the 
vertebral  region,  and  in  that  of  the  head  of  the  thigh  bone.  In 
such  cases,  we  may  safely  infer  that  the  lameness  is  of  an  articular 
character,  and  the  interticular  cartilages,  as  well  as  the  surfaces  of 
the  bones,  are  incrustated  and  ulcerated.  In  this  condition,  the 
animal  is  liable  to  become  useless,  or  "  break  down  "  at  any  mo- 
ment. The  following  case  will  illustrate  what  is  meant  by  break- 
ing down : 

AVe  were  requested,  a  short  time  ago,  by  Prof.  Muzzy,  to  ex- 
amine an  aged  gray  gelding,  the  subject  of  lameness  in  the  hind 
feet.  Examination  revealed  considerable  heat,  tenderness,  and 
tumefaction  around  both  the  hind  coronets,  and  both  angles  of  the 
lower  jaw  were  much  enlarged  in  their  transverse  diameters.  We 
advised  the  owner  to  let  the  animal  have  a  run  at  grass.  Accord- 
ingly he  was  sent  into  the  country  about  thirty  miles,  which  was 
too  long  a  journey  for  him.  A  few  days  afterward,  Prof.  Muzzy 
received  a  letter  that  the  horse's  strings  (tendons)  became  loose, 
and   he  broke  down  and  traveled  on  his  fetlocks,  *nd  was  thes 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  367 

deaJ.  We  infer  that  necrosis  took  place,  and  the  extensor  ten- 
dons lost  their  at  achment,  which  accounted  for  his  breaking  down. 

Prof.  Varxell,  lately  consulted  Dr.  Harley,  of  London,  in 
reference  to  this  formidable  malady,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
almost  unknown  in  England  until  November,  1859,  when  several 
cases  occurred  among  some  horses  the  property  of  Mr.  Champion 
Calcot,  near  Reading.  Three  of  this  gentleman's  animals  had 
died,  a  fourth  was  not  expected  to  live  many  days,  and  two  others 
■were  laboring  under  the  same  disease,  in  a  less  acute  form.  Tho 
most  singular  feature  of  the  disease,  as  it  appeared  on  the  prem- 
ises of  Mr-  Calcot,  was,  that  it  did  not  appear  to  owe  its  origin 
to  any  perceivable  cause,  and  it  was  not  known  to  be  prevalent  in 
any  other  part  of  England.  Still,  our  opinion  is  that  it  does 
exist  in  that  country,  only,  not  being  suspected,  is  not  sought  for. 
It  prevails  very  extensively  among  horses  brought  to  Ohio,  and 
hundreds  of  horses  have  been  purchased  for  the  American  Gov- 
ernment having  more  or  less  enlargement  of  the  lower  jaw,  yet 
we  do  not  believe  that  either  seller  or  purchaser  suspected  the 
same.  This  arises  from  a  lack  of  knowledge  on  the  subject,  and 
the  same  remarks,  as  far  as  our  ignorance  of  the  subject  is  con- 
cerned, may  apply  to  England. 

In  answer  to  questions  put  to  Mr.  Calcot  on  the  subject  of  man- 
agement, etc.,  he  contends  that  the  affected  animals  had  plenty 
of  exercise.  There  were  no  chemical  factories  or  works  in  the 
vicinity.  One  horse  affected  was  purchased  at  a  distance;  the 
rest  had  been  bred  on  his  farm.  The  sires  and  dams  all  appeared 
free  from  the  disease,  and  they  were  not  all  got  by  the  same  sire. 
The  food  consisted  of  good  grass,  hay,  pollard,  oatmeal,  and  roots. 
Other  horses  were  on  the  farm,  fed  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
affected  ones,  yet  they  had  no  symptoms  of  the  disease.  (Perhaps 
they  will  show  symptoms  when  the  jaws  shall  be  examined.  They 
may  have  the  disease,  yet  not  be  lame  nor  apparently  ailing.) 
Mr.  Calcot  never  saw  a  case  of  the  kind  before. 

From  the  above  testimony,  we  may  infer  that  the  causes  of  this 
affection  are  not  yet  discovered  in  England;  but  our  impression 
is  that  overfeeding  has  a  good  deal  to  do  in  the  production  of 
the  malady.  It  appears  to  me  that  this  disease,  as  I  have  already 
stated,  is  one  '-of  malnutrition,  or  defective  nourishment ;  hence 
may  be  considered  as  a  sonrbutic  affection,  like  that  affecting  the 
human  subject,  which  is  known  to  be  the  result  of  faulty  nutri* 


368  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

fcion,  and  which  often  results  in  division  of  bony  parts  which 
were  once  immovable  (the  epiphysis  of  the  pelvis,  for  example) ; 
also  in  the  separation  of  cartilages  from  the  ribs,  and  the  shaft 
bones  softened  and  ruined  by  caries  (ulceration  or  death  of  bone-:  > 
Big  head  and  big  jaw  are  terms  sufficiently  explicit  in  ordinary 
conversation;  but,  in  view  of  scientific  inquiry,  it  is  necessary  to 
employ  terms  indicative  of  the  pathology  of  the  disease.  We  caD 
not  expect,  however,  to  select  any  one  name  that  shall  ipply  to 
all  the  pathological  conditions  during  the  rise,  progress,  and  ter- 
mination of  this  peculiar  malady.  The  condition  of  the  bones 
is  a  state  of  enlargement,  (porousness  and  softening ;)  hence  the 
name  osteo  porosis. 

Causes. — We  have  already  informed  the  reader  that  the  disease 
may  have  an  hereditary  origin ;  otherwise,  we  can  not  account  for 
its  universal  prevalence.  In  certain  localities,  under  the  ordinary 
modes  of  feeding  and  general  management,  we  grant  that  at  first 
the  disease  might  have  had  an  accidental  or  spontaneous  origin, 
and  finally  become  permanent  and  transmissible.  For  example, 
glanders  and  farcy  afford  illustrations  of  a  spontaneous  disease 
becoming  contagious  and  transmissible.  There  must  have  been  a 
me  when  neither  of  the  two  latter  diseases  existed ;  hence,  when 
,»he  first  subject  became  glandered,  he  could  not  have  taken  it  by 
infection  or  by  contagion,  but  it  must  have  had  a  spontaneous 
origin,  and,  finally,  became  permanent.  We  do  not  pretend  to 
urge  that  the  active  disease  itself  is  transmissible ;  yet,  in  certain 
cases,  a  predisposition  is  transferred  to  the  progeny.  This  may 
be  called  the  predisposing  cause ;  the  ordinary  exciting  causes  are 
those  which  disturb  and  derange  the  digestive  function.  The 
digestive  or  nutritive  function  is  deranged,  both  by  excessive  and 
defective  functional  labors,  or  by  the  animal  existing  on  food  that 
does  not  contain  the  necessary  amount  of  nitrogenous  or  muscle- 
making  matter.  This  is  the  case  when  Indian  corn  is  used  as 
food  for  a  great  length  of  time.  It  is  hard  to  digest,  is  deficient. 
in  nitrogen,  and  almost  always  over-distends  the  stomach;  for, 
when  submitted  to  the  action  of  heat  and  the  gastric  fluids,  it. 
increases  in  bulk  to  about  five  or  six  times  its  original  capacity. 
I  have  noticed  that  where  much  whole  corn  is  fed,  as  in  Ohio  and 
Indiana,  the  disease  is  most  prevalent.  Associated  with  the  pre- 
disposing causes  are  others— for  example,  hard  usage,  scr-  abuse, 
and  bad  stable  management. 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  S69 

This  disease  *s  rarely  ever  heard  of  in  England,  probably  from 
the  foot  that  the  food  of  horses  is  rich  in  phosphates  and  nitrogen, 
while  corn  contains  more  of  starchy  matter,  which,  instead  of  fur- 
nishing material  for  the  preparation  of  muscular  or  animal  matter, 
merely  furnishes  that  which  is  consumed  in  process  of  respiration. 

Trecxment. — The  ordinary  treatment,  as  practiced  by  some  per- 
sona, is  to  bore  into  the  jaw-bone,  and  inject  the  same  with  some 
eonosive  poison.  Others  expose  the  jaw-bone,  and  saw  out  a 
sect  on  of  the  same.  Some  persons  blister,  or  apply  preparations 
of  iodine.  Such  treatment,  I  think,  only  tends  to  create  unneces- 
sary irritation  and  pain,  and  can  not  possibly  be  of  any  benefit, 
for  [  contend  that  the  disease  is  not  local,  but  constitutional,  and 
the  reader  will  probably,  after  perusing  this  dissertation,  come  to 
the  same  conclusion.  The  disease  has  extensive  ramifications  in 
various  parts  of  the  bony  fabric,  and,  therefore,  the  local  treatment 
must  fail  in  curing  the  malady.  Cases  may  arise  which  require 
surgical  operations,  and  if  so,  I  have  no  objections  to  offer.  I 
have  often  been  told  that  horses,  after  having  all  sorts  of  barbar- 
ities practiced  on  them,  have  recovered.  This,  so  far  as  the  treat- 
ment is  concerned,  is  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the  old 
error,  "  He  got  well  after  taking  my  medicine ;  therefore,  in  con- 
sequence of  taking  it."  This  is  assuming  a  falsehood  for  a  fact, 
and  then  giving  fanciful  reasons  for  it. 

In  view  both  of  prevention  and  cure  of  this  organic  disease  of 
the  bones  and  their  articulations,  more  is  to  be  accomplished  by 
regimen  than  by  medicine.  The  animal  should  always  be  pro- 
vided with  wholesome  diet,  and  wmenever  green  vegetables  can  be 
obtained,  they  should  be  fed  liberally,  or,  what  is  much  better, 
provided  the  season  permits,  allow  the  animal  to  roam  in  a  pasture. 
Whenever  I  have  a  case  of  this  kind  under  treatment,  I  furnish 
apples,  beets,  carrots,  cabbage,  or  any  other  kind  of  vegetable  that 
I  can  procure.  I  find  that  such  articles  are  usually  devoured  with 
good  relish.  The  object  in  feeding  green  food  is  to  combat  the 
scorbutic  diathesis  which  usually  exists.  The  patient  should  also 
be  allowed  from  five  to  seven  quarts  of  oats  per  day. 

When  a  horse  with  an  enlargement  of  the  lower  or  upper  jaw 
is  suddenly  attacked  with  acute  lameness,  he  should  be  placed  iu 
a  wide  stall,  and  the  parts  where  the  lameness  appears  to  be  lo- 
cated, as  well  as  the  jaws,  should  be  diligemt^  nibbed,  twice  daily, 
with  a  portion  of  the  following: 
24 


37C  DADD  S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

No.  58.   Spirits  of  camphor 6  oe. 

Cod-liver  oil 4  oz. 

Oil  of  cedar 2  oz. 

Diluted  acetic  acid 1  pint. 

Mix. 

Then  procure  the  following: 

No.  59.  Chlorate  of  potass 2  oz. 

Powdered  ginger -4  oz. 

Gentian 3  oz. 

Podophyllum 2  oz. 

Poplar  hark 6  oz. 

Mix. 

Dose,  one  ounce  night  and  morning,  to  be  incorporated  in  the 
food. 

This  treatment  usually  palliates  the  lameness.  Should  it  not 
do  so,  the  owner  must  be  patient,  and  give  Nature  time  to  restore 
the  animal  to  comparative  usefulness.  Flour  of  bone  or  phosphate 
of  lime  may  be  given,  at  the  rate  of  a  couple  of  ounces  per  day. 
Such  agents  are  always  indicated  in  the  treatment  of  the  above 
malady. 

Spavin. 

Spavin  consists  of  an  exostosis  of  the  hock,  commonly  located 
on  the  inner  side,  whereby  bones  before  moveable  become  cemented 
and  fixed  together,  and  which  is  often  productive  of  ulceration  of 
the  articular  surfaces  of  one  or  more  of  the  joints  of  the  hock. 
Sometimes,  however,  spavin  makes  its  appearance  on  the  anterior 
or  front  part  of  the  hock,  and  sometimes  there  is  no  enlargement 
to  be  discovered.  Such  cases,  unaccompanied  by  enlargement,  are 
called  inter-articular  spavin. 

Symptoms. — "The  symptoms  of  spavin,"  says  Mr.  Percivat  l, 
"  are,  in  general,  plain,  simple,  and  unequivocal.  The  horse  mani- 
fests lameness  in  one  of  his  hind  limbs,  and,  on  examination,  a 
circumscribed  spheroid  tumor,  of  the  magnitude  of  half  a  walnut 
or  more,  is  evident  enough  both  to  the  sight  and  feel  of  the  man 
practiced  in  such  matters.  Lameness,  however,  the  effect  of  spavin, 
may  be  present  without  any  detectable  tumor. 

My  own  observation  has  led  me  to  note  two  kinds  of  lameness 
in  spavin — one,  the  effect  either  of  the  ordinary  subacute  or  chronic 
inflammation,  or  of  partial  anchylosis  of  the  parts,  is  but  compar- 
atively slight,  and  consists,  for  the  most  part,  ii  stiffness  on  motion, 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES. 


371 


or  in  defective  flexible  power  of  the  hock-joint ;  the  other,  the  effect 
of  acute  inflammation  of  the  spavined  parts,  or  else  of  ulceration 
of  the  joints,  consists  in  a  sort  of  spasmodic  catching  up  of  the 
spavined  limb  the  moment  the  heel  of  the  foot  comes  down  upon 
the  ground,  something  after  the  manner  of  string-halt.  Stiffness 
may  not  unfrequently  be  observed  even  in  the  horse's  side  move- 


SPAVINED   IN    OFF    HIND    LEG— RINGBONE    IN    ALL    THE    PASTERNS. 

ment  in  his  stall.  With  such  characteristic  lameness  as  this,  and 
with  spavin  present  as  well,  evidently  hot  and  tender  to  pressure, 
there  can  exist  no  doubt  about  the  case.  Where,  however,  the 
lameness  is  but  slight,  although  a  spavin  is  present,  yet,  from  the 
absence  of  any  heat  or  tenderness  in  the  swelling,  as  well  as  from 
its  duration,  many  doubts  arise  as  to  the  cause  of  the  lameness. 
In  such  a  case  as  this,  we  should  take  advantage  of  the  well- 
known  fact  of  the  fluctuating  or  evanescent  character  of  spavin 
lameness,  to  which  end  it  is  advisable  to  have  the  horse  under 
examination  hard  ridden  or  driven,  or  otherwise  exercised,  until 
he  be  in  a  profuse  sweat,  and  afterward  kept  standing  tied  up  in 
a  stall,  until  he  be  cold  and  stiff  in  his  joints,  and  then  trotted 
out  again.  A  knowing  vender  of  a  spavined  horse  would  take 
care  to  '  warm '  him  by  a  good  ride  or  drive  before  he  took  him 
to  show  to  the  presumed  purchaser;  and  then,  while  under  ex- 


372  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

animation,  by  dint  of  whip  and  spur,  and  management  in  the 
bridle-hand,  he  might  pass  his  merchandise  off  to  an  unwary 
buyer  as  sound.  Indeed,  so  much  is  sweating  work,  or  exercise 
approaching  thereto,  apt  to  prove  a  foil  to  showing  lameness, 
that  one  is  almost  inclined  to  say  no  horse  ought  to  be  examiued 
under  such  circumstances;  certainly  no  horse  suspected  of  spavin. 
The  time,  of  all  others,  that  a  spavined  horse  will  be  apt  to  man- 
ifest his  lameness  will  be  the  day  following  after  a  hard  day's 
work ;  and  when  he  makes  his  first  egress  from  the  stable  in  the 
morning  is  the  critical  period  for  examination.  Horses  that  go 
limpingly  lame  from  spavin,  lame  at  all  times,  and  lamer  still 
when  they  work,  often  experience  pain  in  the  seat  of  disease  to  a 
degree  which,  in  the  language  of  Solleysell,  causes  them  '  to  pine 
away,  especially  about  the  flanks.'  They  have  probably  been 
blistered  and  fired,  perhaps  setoned ;  have  had  their  hocks  fright- 
fully scarred,  and  yet  are  lame  to  that  degree  that  they  are  unable 
to  do  more  than  gingerly  put  the  toe  of  the  foot  of  the  spavined 
limb  to  the  ground,  and  so  painfully  hobble  along ;  and,  although 
they  may  still  maintain  their  appetite,  yet  they  are  low  in  condi- 
tion, tucked  up  in  their  flanks — evidently,  in  short, '  pining  awa).' 

Such  pitiable  subjects,  it  is  true,  may  be  kept  at  work.  The 
little,  however,  they  can  do,  when  put  to  any  thing  requiring 
strength  of  action  or  pull,  together  with  the  wretched  condition 
they  are  generally  in,  is  a  fact  so  well  known  to  coach  and  omni- 
bus proprietors,  and  horse-keepers  in  general,  that  at  the  horse 
auctions  such  animals  fetch  little  or  nothing.  Even  for  agricul- 
tural work  such  laborers  as  these  prove  of  but  little  worth.  Now 
and  then,  however,  it  happens  that  the  spavined  horse,  although 
treatment  has  failed  to  render  him  sound,  continues,  in  respect  to 
his  disease,  in  that  state  in  which  he  appears  to  suffer  no  local 
pain  at  all  while  at  rest,  an^  but  little  while  at  work,  and  so  is 
able  to  do  a  considerable  c  1  of  some  kinds  of  labor,  lasting 

in  it  perhaps  for  yearo-  ,-JuIl,  such  a  horse  is  more  likely  than 
another  to  receive  injuries,  to  experience  aggravation  or  relapse 
of  disease  in  his  already  diseased  hock;  and,  under  such  return 
or  augmentation  of  ailment,  unless  great  care  be  taken,  and  fre- 
quently with  all  the  care  we  can  take,  may  and  will  fail  altogether, 

Spavins  exist  which  occasion  no  lameness.  How  this  comes  to 
pass  will  appear  when  the  time  arrives  to  consider  the  reasons  why 
wpavins  in  general  cause  lameness,  and,  on  occasions,  very  great 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  373 

pain  as  well,  which  can  not  be  done  before  we  come  to  treat  of  the 
pathology  of  spavin.  It  is  sufficient  for  our  purpose  here  that  we 
note  and  establish  the  fact  that  lameness  is  not  a  necessary  conse- 
quence of  spavin.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  meet  with 
horses,  colts  even,  who  have  what  the  dealers  call  '  knots '  in  their 
spavin  places;  and  the  time  was  when  such  'knots'  (which  have 
always  been  regarded  as  spavins)  were  certificated  as  constituting 
unsoundness. 

Lameness  arising  from  spavin  is  sometimes  present  without  the 
outward  appearance  of  spavin.  This  is  a  form  of  disease  better 
known  to  veterinary  surgeons  in  general,  I  believe,  under  the  de- 
nomination of  occult  hock  lameness.  My  own  attention  to  the 
subject  was  first  drawn  so  long  ago  as  in  the  year  1815,  though 
then  I  was  quite  in  the  dark  as  to  the  nature  of  the  case.  On 
my  return  from  Belgium,  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  I  had  in 
my  possession  a  bay  blood  mare,  who  was  lame  in  one  of  her  hind 
legs  (I  forget  which),  but  whose  lameness  was  of  that  nature  that 
no  external  sign  whatever  was  apparent  to  account  for  it.  The 
limb  had  been  searched  over  and  over  again,  by  myself  and  some 
other  veterinary  surgeons,  and  the  mare  had  been  trotted  and 
walked,  circled  and  paced,  and  put  to  all  other  known  trials  and 
tests,  without  the  examinations  ending  in  any  thing  like  concur- 
rent opinions  respecting  either  the  seat  or  the  nature  of  her  lame- 
ness. The  mare  returned  home,  marching  with  the  troops,  led 
by  a  man  on  horseback — for,  notwithstanding  her  lameness,  she 
walked  very  well — and,  as  soon  as  she  arrived  at  head-quarters 
(Woolwich),  I  showed  her  to  my  father,  at  the  time  senior  veteri- 
nary surgeon  of  the  Ordnance  Department.  He  examined  her, 
and  without  hesitation  pronounced  her  'lamp  in  the  hock,'  and 
she  was  treated  accordingly ;  and  the  result  was,  at  no  great  dis- 
tance of  time,  her  complete  restoration  to  soundness. 

It  is  true,  so  far  as  the  case  above  related  goes,  that  the  only 
proof  that  the  mare's  lameness  was  in  the  hock,  was  her  restor- 
ation to  soundness  after  the  application  of  remedies  to  that  joint. 
There  is,  however,  tr  be  said,  in  addition,  to  induce  us  to  believe 
that  it  was  so,  that,  of  all  the  joints  of  the  hind  limb,  no  one  is  so 
"frequently  or  so  likely  to  be  deranged  as  the  hock ;  and,  conse- 
quently, from  this  fact  alone,  is  a  prima  facie  case  made  out. 
Moreover,  we  have,  to  assist  us  in  our  diagnosis,  the  stiff  or  im- 
perfect flexion  of  the  hock-joint  in  action,   >.nd  the  wearing  away 


374  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

of  tlie  toe  of  the  shoe,  showing  that  the  heel  is  rarely  or  but  very 
gingerly  put  to  the  ground ;  also  the  circumstance,  often  observ- 
able by  the  groom,  of  the  animal  resting  the  lame  (hind)  limb  in 
the  stable;  on  occasions,  perhaps,  knackling  over  upon  it,  and  so 
bearing  the  weight  upon  the  toe  alone.  And  it  has  happened 
before  now  that,  while  doubt  was  impending  as  to  the  locality 
and  nature  of  the  lameness,  a  spavin  has  made  its  appearance,  and 
dissipated  all  further  conjecture;  and  with  this  development  of 
the  spavin,  the  lameness,  so  far  from  being  augmented,  is  not 
unlikely  to  become  better.  This  is  an  observation  made  so  long 
ago  as  the  time  of  Solleysell.  This  admirable  observer,  in  one 
part  of  his  chapter  on  spavins,  says :  'At  their  first  piercing,  they, 
generally  speaking,  make  a  horse  halt,  and  afterward  the  swelling 
growing  bigger,  the  horse  halteth  no  more  with  it.'  " 

I  have  noticed  that  spavined  horses  are  usually  the  subjects  of 
ill-shaped  hocks;  hence  this  peculiarity  of  conformation  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  such  animals  have  a  certain  amount  of  pre- 
disposition lurking  in  their  systems.  The  ordinary  exciting  causes 
are  sprain  or  strain,  and  overwork. 

Now,  what  will  cure  spavin?  This  question  was  propounded 
to  the  author,  some  time  ago,  and  the  following  answer  was 
elicited.  The  answer  is  as  good  to-day  as  when  first  written. 
"What will  cure  spavin?"  I  answer:  Time,  rest,  and  the  appli- 
cation of  remedies  adapted  to  the  various  stages  of  the  disease. 
The  usual  remedies,  in  the  early  stage,  are  rest,  frequent  use  of  the 
shower-bath,  and  refrigerating  lotions.  In  the  chronic  stage,  and 
when  the  disease  has  commenced  on  the  articulating  surfaces  of 
the  hock-joint,  or  an  ossific  bony  enlargement  has  made  its  ap- 
pearance, then  we  resort  to  counter-irritation,  by  using  some  one 
of  the  preparations  of  cantharides  or  iodine.  "  What  will  cure 
spavin  ?"  is  a  tough  question  for  a  medical  man  to  solve ;  for,  if 
he  has  been  properly  educated,  he  knows  well  enough  that  bone 
spavin,  like  hip-joint  disease  in  the  human  subject,  is,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes,  incurable — I  mean  in  so  far  as  the  physiology 
and  pathology  of  the  parts  are  concerned.  Soft  tissues,  once 
aaving  been  changed  into  bone,  never  can  be  remetamorphosed 
into  the  original  condition  so  as  to  possess  their  inherent  qualities 
of  elasticity  (contraction  and  expansion).  At  the  same  time  we 
are  all  horsemen  enough  to  understand  what  the  term  "  :ure " 
means  when  applied  to  the  disease  known  as  spavin.     It  signifies 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES  375 

freedom  from  sensibility  and  lameness,  and  a  partial  disappear- 
ance of"  the  enlargement,  or  "  eye-sore."  As  the  reader  may  like 
to  refer  to  the  opinion  of  some  well-known  author,  as  well  as 
what  ]  Iiere  advance,  I  select  a  quotation  on  the  treatment  of  bone 
spavin  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Blaine  : 

"  This  disease  does  not  differ  from  splint,  except  that  it  is  much 
oftener  a  cause  of  serious  lameness.  Occurring,  however,  as  it 
commonly  does,  in  older  horses,  it  also  proves  more  obstinate,  and 
the  treatment  required,  therefore,  should  be  more  active.  Among 
the  old  farriers,  who,  like  some  of  the  moderns,  thought  nothing 
too  strong  for  a  horse,  violent  mechanical  operations  were  resorted 
to,  as  the  mallet  and  chisel  to  chip  it  off,  boring  the  exostosis  with 
a  gimlet,  punching  it  with  a  hot  iron,  or  applying  caustics.  The 
first  removing  it  mechanically,  and  the  three  latter  methods  de- 
stroying its  vitality,  promoted  its  exfoliation.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected, for  one  case  which  succeeded  (and  in  some  it  certainly  did 
succeed)  in  many  it  increased  the  lameness,  or  ended  in  anchy- 
losis and  sometimes  death.  It  is  not  improbable  that  instruments 
may  yet  be  devised  which  will  operate  on  these  bony  •nlargements 
without  risk,  though  the  chances  are  fewer  in  the  hock,  from  its 
connection  with  capsular  and  bursal  ligaments,  than  in  any  other 
parts. 

Treatment. — The  treatment  pursued  by  veterinarians  of  the 
present  day  varies  somewhat.  Those  bordering  on  the  old  school 
still  rub  with  some,  violence,  and  then  stimulate  them  with  oil 
origanum,  oil  terebinth,  etc.  Those  of  a  later  day  blister  and  fire. 
At  the  Veterinary  College  setons  are  used,  by  ripping  up  the  in- 
tegument and  pushing  a  needle  around,  with  tape  through  it,  so 
that  the  seton  within  the  skin  exactly  opposes  itself  to  the  spavin. 
If  the  skin  is  tender  or  tumefied,  it  is  more  proper  to  make  an 
opening  above  and  below  the  exostosis,  and  to  push  a  blunt  seton- 
needle  or  eyed  probe  from  one  opening  to  the  other,  armed  with 
a  tape  smeared  with  mild  blistering  ointment,  or  common  turpen- 
tine. In  this  way,  report  says,  the  College  practice  has  proved 
very  successful.  Blistering  we  have,  however,  found,  when  re- 
peated over  and  over,  commonly  prove  equal  to  all  the  benefit 
these  obstinate  cases  can  receive;  for,  when  the  bone  deposit  is 
fully  formed,  it  is  in  vain  to  expect  its  entire  absorption.  Even 
its  partial  absorption  is  frustrated.  The  removal  of  acute  lame- 
ness is  generally  the  only  benefit  which  can  be  anticipated.     Our 


376  DaDDS  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

principal  hope  lies  in  preventing  the  increase  of  the  bony  deposit, 
and  likewise  in  removing  that  inflammation  which  is  the  existing 
cause  of  much  of  the  pain,  stiffness,  and  tumefaction  in  the  sur- 
rounding ligaments.  Our  hopes  of  success  must  also  greatly  de- 
pend on  the  time  the  evil  has  existed.  When  it  is  early  attended 
to — that  is,  before  the  bony  deposit  has  gained  its  full  solidity — 
stimulants  act  more  favorably,  and  lessen  it  more  materiall}.  Li 
remains  to  add  that,  when  repeated  blistering  fails,  the  iring-iron 
generally  concludes  the  business,  but  commonly  answers  no  further 
purpose  than  being  a  publication  of  the  animal's  infirmity,  and  a 
warning  to  practitioners  as  regards  the  previous  treatment." 

The  remedies  and  means  used  by  the  author  of  this  work  for 
the  treatment  of  spavin  are  tke  same  as  recommended  for  ring- 
bone.    (See  article  on  Ring-bone.) 

Fracture  of  the  Pelvis  ("Hip  Shot,"  or  "Pinhipped"). 

My  attention  having  lately  been  called  to  two  cases  of  fractured 
pelvis,  I  am*ed  to  make  the  following  remarks  for  the  benefit  of 
those  who  feel  an  interest  in  matters  pertaining  to  veterinary  sci- 
ence. The  accident  of  fracture  of  the  pelvis  is  of  very  common 
occurrence,  and  I  think  that  many  such  cases  might  be  prevented 
by  the  exercise  of  a  little  judgment  on  the  part  of  horse-owners. 
For  example,  the  great  majority  of  cases  with  which  I  am  ac- 
quainted have  occurred  in  the  stable,  after  the  animals  have  been 
put  up  for  the  night  "all  well,"  as  the  owners  have  informed  me, 
and  to  them  the  matter  seemed  very  mysterious  and  unaccounta- 
ble.    But  I  think  that  the  mystery  can  easily  be  explained. 

If  a  horse  is  put  up  for  the  night  all  well  and  free  from  lame- 
ness, and  in  the  morning  is  lame,  and  it  is  observed  that  the  hip 
is  knuckled  down,  as  the  saying  is,  (fracture  of  the  pelvis,)  or,  in 
other  words,  he  is  "  hip-shot,"  the  evidence  then  seems  conclusive 
that  the  accident  occurred  within  the  stable.  Then  the  question 
arises,  How  did  it  occur  ?  We  all  ought  to  know  that  the  stalls 
in  our  city  stables  are  too  narrow ;  many  of  them  do  not  exceed 
four  feet  in  breadth.  Now,  let  a  large  horse  throw  himself  vio- 
lently down,  as  they  often  do  when  tired  or  in  pain,  and  he  ia 
very  apt  to  strike  the  point  of  the  hip  against  one  side  of  the  sta- 
ble. The  point  of  the  hip  being  but  imperfectly  protected  from 
external  or  lateral"  injury,  except  by  the  common  'ntegument,  th«» 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  377 

Jar  or  concussion  thus  received  often  occasions  fracture.  J  know 
that  this  is  the  case;  for,  on  making  examination  of  some  of  these 
fractures,  I  found  the  skin  over  the  region  of  the  point  of  the  hip 
bruised  and  abraded.  Then,  again,  horses  frequently  get  cast  at 
nig]  t,  and  are  the  subjects  of  colic,  or  other  aches  or  pains.  They 
struggle  violently,  get  imprisoned,  as  it  were,  in  their  nanow 
apartments,  and,  when  released  by  assistance,  fracture  of  the  pelvis 
is  often  discovered. 

This  is  not  all.  Sometimes  sufficient  bedding  is  not  furnished 
to  protect  the  animal  from  the  effects  of  hurriedly  reclining,  or 
slipping  down,  on  a  hard  plank  floor,  and  the  result  is  often  the 
same  as  that  just  alluded  to.  Then,  in  view  of  prevention,  these 
facts  suggest  the  propriety  of  having  wider  stalls,  and  a  liberaJ 
supply  of  shavings  or  sawdust  for  bedding ;  that  is,  when  straw 
can  not  be  obtained ;  yet  I  think  that  when  sawdust  can  be  ob- 
tained, it  is  the  most  wholesome  and  economical  bedding  for 
horses.  Taking  a  pathological  view  of  the  matter,  I  have  to  in- 
form the  reader  that  a  great  proportion  of  these  fractures  occur 
among  horses  well  advanced  in  years;  and  it  may  be  that  their 
bones,  in  some  cases,  are  brittle  and  very  easily  fractured,  as  is 
the  case  with  some  aged  members  of  the  human  family,  whose 
thigh  bones  have  been  easily  fractured  by  a  slight  fall,  or  jumping 
out  of  bed  in  a  hurry,  many  such  cases  being  on  record. 

The  horse  is  occasionally  subject  to  a  disease  of  the  bones  known 
as  fatty  degeneration,  which  is  said  to  be  partly  occasioned  by  an 
exclusive  Indian  corn  diet.  In  such  cases  the  vacuities  in  some 
of  the  bones  are  filled  with  oily  matter,  are  light,  and  easily  frac- 
tured. He  is  also  subject  to  a  disease  known  as  rickets,  which 
may  depend  either  on  hereditary  predisposition  or  imperfect  nu- 
trition. The  bones  are  defective  in  early  constituents,  and,  con- 
sequently, give  way  under  the  weight  which  they  ought  otherwise 
to  sustain.  The  remedy  is,  a  nutritive  diet,  partly  composed  of 
oats,  and  occasional  doses  of  phosphate  of  lime. 

Horses  very  frequently  fracture  the  pelvis  by  falling  in  harness, 
out  for  this  I  know  of  no  remedy  except  careful  driving;  yet 
sometimes,  in  spite  of  due  care,  they  must  fall  when  traveling  on 
slippery  pavements,  and  when  improperly  shod. 

Treatment. — As  regards  the  treatment  of  fracture  of  the  pelvis 
I  have  but  little  to  offer.  It  is  all  contained  in  the  words  rest 
and    counter-irritation    fseton   or   blister),   yet  requires  time  for 


378  DADDS   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Nature  to  unite  the  bones  after  her  well-known  fashion.  If  the 
horse  is  a  valuable  one,  and  the  fracture  slight,  he  should  be 
placed  in  slings.  The  hair  may  then  be  shaved  off  the  region  of 
fracture  to  the  extent  of  one  foot  in  diameter;  then  smear  on, 
while  warm,  a  strengthening  plaster,  composed  of  pitch,  resin, 
and  beeswax.  But  should  the  fracture  be  of  a  very  grave  char- 
acter— the  bones  broken  in  several  places,  the  animal  down  and 
in  great  agony — then  the  sooner  he  is  put  out  of  his  misery  th» 
better. 

Splent,  or  Splint. 

Splent,  or  splint,  makes  its  appearance  on  the  inner  and  lower 
part  of  the  knee-joint.  It  consists  of  a  bony  tumor  (exostosis), 
and,  finally,  the  small  bone  known  as  fJie  metacarpus  purvus 
becomes  united  to  the  cannon  or  shank  Done.  This  constitutes 
anchylosis,  so  that  the  disease  is  of  the  same  nature  as  ring-bone. 
Splent  sometimes  appears  on  the  outside  of  the  leg ;  but  the  dis- 
ease is  oftener  found  on  the  inside,  from  the  fact  that  it  is  nearer 
the  center  of  the  weight  of  the  body  than  the  outer,  and  receives 
the  greatest  amount  of  concussion  The  inner  bone  is  said  to 
receive  nearly  the  whole  weight  transmitted  to  the  small  bone  of 
the  knee.  A  splent  on  the  inside  is  often  the  result  of  a  blow 
inflicted  with  the  opposite  foot,  which  bruises  the  soft  parts  and 
periosteum,  and,  finally,  the  bones  become  affected.  Faulty  shoe- 
ing has  also  a  direct  agency  in  the  production  of  splent.  For 
example :  if  one  caulk  of  the  shoe  be  higher  than  the  other,  or 
should  the  foot  be  pared  more  on  one  side  than  the  other,  the 
effect  will  be  to  throw  the  limb  into  a  false  position,  which  may 
result  in  ligamentary  lameness  and  splent.  Splent,  however,  ap- 
pears sometimes  without  any  assignable  cause.  On  dissecting  the 
imbs  of  aged  horses,  we  frequently  find  the  splent  bones  firmly 
united  to  the  shank.  The  following  is  the  opinion  of  Prof.  Cole- 
man in  regard  to  splent: 

"  '  A  splent  once  is  a  splent  always.'  The  two  bones  being  once 
united  by  ossific  matter,  this  connection,  whatever  we  may  do  or 
apply,  will  never  be  altered.  It  used  to  be  the  custom  to  remove 
the  splent  with  a  hammer  and  chisel,  but  the  production  of  a 
large  blemish,  from  the  destruction  of  skin,  was  the  consequence 
of  this  barbarous  method.  Another  practice,  as  ancient  and  bar- 
barous as  the  former,  was  the  application  of  corrosive  sublimate, 


LAMENESS.  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES. 


379 


A  PERFECT  FORE-LEG. 


X  \1 


A  Seton  for 
the  Splint. 


Situation  of 
the  Splint. 


Situation  of  the 
of  firing  it  nil 

Situation  of  the 
&  mode  of 


Windfall  &  method 
round  the  leg. 

Ring-bone 
firing  it. 


Situation  of  the 
&  method  of  firms;. 


Thorough-pin 


Situation  of  Blood  Spavin. 

Situation  of  the  Bone  Spavin  J^;: 
firing  the  same. 


&  method  of 


BOTTOM  OF  THE  HOOF. 


o  a  the  crust, 
fc  6  the  sole. 


c  c  the  bars. 
d  d  the  frog. 


38C  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

or  other  strong  caustic,  so  as  to  occasion  a  slough.  In  this  case, 
too,  the  remedy  was  as  bad  as  the  disease ;  the  horse  was  disfigured 
for  life.  Better  and  more  recent  treatment  than  this  was  either 
firing  or  blistering.  The  objection  to  the  former,  however,  was 
the  marks  it  produced;  and  to  the  latter,  in  common  with  the 
former,  that  though  the  lameness  was  removed,  it  very  frequently 
returned  with  the  resumption  of  labor. 

The  more  modern,  successful,  and  scientific  treatment  01  splent< 
consists  in  the  operation  of  periosteotomy,  or  division  of  the  peri- 
osteum, which  covers  the  bone. 

Professor  Sewell  has  introduced,  within  the  few  past  years,  an 
excellent  mode  of  performing  the  operation.  The  horse  is  cast, 
the  leg  properly  straightened  and  secured,  and  then  a  small  open- 
ing is  made  just  below  the  splent  sufficient  to  introduce  a  long, 
narrow,  convex,  probe-pointed  knife,  the  edge  of  which,  is  on  the 
convex  side  The  knife  is  then  passed  up  under  the  skin,  and  by 
drawing  it  backward  and  forward  on  the  splent,  pressing  firmly 
at  the  same  time,  the  periosteum  is  completely  divided.  A  small 
opening  is  then  made  through  the  skin  above  the  splent,  and  a 
narrow  seton  passed  from  one  orifice  to  the  other,  after  which  a 
bandage  is  placed  on  the  leg,  and  the  horse  released.  The  seton 
should  be  moved  and  dressed  daily  with  digestive  ointment,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  a  week  removed,  and  the  wound  permitted  to 
heal.  I  have  found  the  operation  succeed  whenever  I  have  adopted 
it.  In  the  very  numerous  cases  that  occur  of  splents  being  unat- 
tended with  lameness,  it  is  'better  to  let  well  alone;'  but  when 
the  lameness  is  slight,  and  the  horse  can  not  be  spared  from  work 
more  than  a  few  days,  it  is  well  to  apply  a  mild  blistering  appli- 
cation, such  as  the  tincture  of  cantharides,  about  a  tea-spoonful  of 
which  will  be  sufficient  for  one  application,  which  may  be  repeated 
according  to  the  action  it  produces  and  the  benefit  it  occasions." 

Treatment. — Our  practice  in  this  country  is  to  treat  splent  on 
the  same  general  principles  that  obtain  in  spavin  and  ring-bone — 
namely,  in  the  acute  stage,  when  the  accident  of  striking  has 
happened,  we  apply  sedatives  and  refrigerents,  and  in  the  chronic 
stage,  counter-irritants  and  absorbents.  For  the  treatment  of  the 
acute  stage,  a  selection  from  the  following  articles  may  be  made : 
Arnica,  infusion  of  hops  or  poppies,  cold  water,  or  equal  parts  of 
vinegar  and  water.  In  the  chronic  stage,  and  in  view  of  lessen- 
ing the  tumefaction.  I  recommend  the  following: 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARiODS  CAUSES.  38] 

No.  60.  Powdered  iodide  of  potass 2  dr. 

Simple  Cerate 1   oz. 

Cod-liver  oil £  oz. 

Rub  these  ingredients  together  in  a  mortar,  and  when  thor- 
oughly mixed  it  is  fit  for  use.  A  daily  application  of  this  oint- 
ment for  a  short  time  will  suffice.  There  are  many  cases  of  splent 
'that  do  not  occasion  the  least  lameness  •  therefore  they  had  better 
be  let  alone. 

Bowed  Legs  or  Sprung  Knees. 

The  following  case  will  illustrate  the  method  of  cure  for  sprung 
knees.  The  subject  of  this  operation  had  met  with  an  accident, 
which  resulted  in  "bowed  limb,"  and  had  so  progressed  within 
the  period  of  a  few  months  as  to  render  the  limb  the  most  de- 
formed one  I  ever  saw ;  for  when  the  toe  touched  the  ground,  the 
heel  was  elevated  about-  four  inches.  At  the  same  time,  the  infe- 
rior extremity  of  the  cannon  overlapped  the  large  pastern  some- 
thing like  three-quarters  of  an  inch.  Such  a  deviation  from  the 
perpendicular  line  would,  as  a  matter  of  course,  bring  a  tremendous 
strain  on  the  extensor  tendons  in  front  and  the  suspensory  liga- 
ment, and  this  appeared  to  be  the  case;  for  the  tendons  and  liga- 
ment were  rigid  as  a  bowstring. 

The  horse  was  cast  on  the  off  side,  and,  after  securing  the  limbs, 
the  near  fore  one  was  released  from  the  hobble  and  held  by  assist- 
ants. A  puncture  in  the  outer  lateral  region  of  the  flexor  tendons 
was  made  through  the  integument.  A  convex,  probe-pointed 
bistoury  was  then  introduced,  and,  by  a  gentle  sawing  movement, 
tae  flexors  perforatus  and  perforans  were  divided.  On  straight- 
ening the  limb,  which  was  done  without  the  least  difficulty,  the 
edges  of  the  tendons  had  separated  almost  two  inches.  These 
would,  of  course,  after  awhile,  become  reunited  by  granulation  anc 
interstitial  deposits.  Thus  tendons  would,  finally,  gain  in  lengti 
something  less  than  two  inches,  which  would  render  the  leg  al- 
most straight  again.  The  puncture  through  the  skin  being  small, 
a  single  suture-  sufficed  to  close  the  orifice.  This  being  accom- 
plished, a  cold-water  bandage  was  neatly  applied,  and  then  the 
patient  was  permitted  to  rise.  He  walked  to  the  stable  tolerably 
well,  yet  still  had  a  slight  "  knuckling  over  "  at  the  fetlock.  This 
was  probably  owing  to  the  distended  or  lax  state  of  the  capsular 
ligament  and  extensor  tendon.     A  shoe  was  now  applied  to  the 


382  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

foot,  having  a  straight  piece  of  iron,  eight  inches  in  length,  welded 
on  to  the  ground  surface  of  the  toe  of  the  shoe.  The  ol  ject  in 
applying  this  contrivance  was  to  prevent  flexion,  to  keep  ihe  di- 
vided ends  of  the  tendon  apart,  and  to  guard  against  direct  uniou 
of  the  same.     The  operation  finally  proved  successful. 

The  following  case  occurred  in  the  practice  of  Professor  Bra  chet4 
as  given  in  the  "  Veterinary  Record  : " 

"  This  most  extraordinary  case  was  observed  in  September,  1856, 
three  months  after  the  inundation  of  the  Rhone,  on  a  farm  near 
this  river.     The  subject  of  the  disease  was  a  filly,  three  months 
old.     She  was  born  perfectly  straight  on  her  legs,  but  about  fifteen 
days  after  birth  the  fore-limbs  became  bent,  and  the  deformity 
increased  so  rapidly  that  when  Brachet  saw  the  animal  it  moved 
on  its  knees.     It  was  with  great  difficulty  that,  by  efforts  to  extend 
the  limb,  the  acute  angle  formed  at  the  knee  could  at  all  be 
widened,  and  such  an  experiment  gave  great  pain  to  the  animal. 
The  dam  being  taken  out  of  the  stable,  Brachet  was  astonished 
to  see  the  iillv  walking  after  her  on  her  knees,  almost  as  fast  as  if 
progressing  naturally.     On  the  front  of  the  knee  the  skin  was  hard 
and  callous,  the  tendons  behind  it  were  rigid  and  immovable,  and 
Brachet  decided  on  performing  tenotomy.     The  animal  was  cast 
and  the  near  fore-leg  operated  upon.     An  incision  was  made,  about 
an  inch  in  length,  at  the  back  of  the  arm,  in  a  line  with  the  upper 
part  of  the  carpus  ;  the  tendon  of  the  flexor  metaearpi  extern  us 
was  first  cut,  then  one  of  the  medius,  and,  lastly,  that  of  the  inter- 
nal  flexor  of  the  metacarpus,  when   the  limb  straightened.     A 
splint  was  placed  in  front  of  the  leg.     Eight  days  afterward  the 
off  limb  was  operated  upon  ;  fifteen  days  later  the  splints  were 
removed,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  month,  the  filly  stood  well,  but  in 
moving  carried  her  fore-legs  forward  in  a  piece.     Flexion  at  the 
knee  could  not  be  effected,  but  the  young  animal  improved  rapidly ; 
the  limbs  became  strong,  and  though  slightly  bowed,  their  action 
was  perfect.     Brachet  believes  the  deformity  arose  from  rheuma- 
tism, induced  by  the  damp  on  the  occasion  of  the  overflowing  of 
the  river  near  the  farm." 

The  following  is  Mr.  Percivall's  method  of  performing  te- 
notomy for  sprung  knees: 

"  The  operation  of  tenotomy,  though  a  formidable  one  for  the 
patient,  is  not  a  difficult  one  for  the  operator.  The  object  is  sec- 
tinD  of  the  flexor  tendons,  the  effect  of  which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  '.a 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  383 

let  down  frife  heel  of  the  foot,  not  the  fetlock,  to  the  ground.  The 
flexor  tendons  support  the  pastern  and  foot-joints  principally,  the 
fetlock-joint  having  the  additional  strong  support  of  the  suspen- 
sory ligament,  which  it  still  retains  after  the  tendons  have  been 
cut  through.  This  accounts  for  the  heel  of  the  foot,  without  thp 
fetlock,  being  let  down  by  the  operation  of  tenotomy. 

Having  cast  the  horse,  and  so  secured  the  limb  to  be  operated 
a  that  there  is  not  much  chance  of  any  interruption  being  occa- 
sioned through  its  motion,  I  recommend  that  a  longitudinal  in- 
cision, three  or  four  inches  in  length,  be  made  through  the  skin, 
along  the  back  of  the  leg,  down  upon  the  middle  portion  of  the 
flexor  perforatus  tendon.  This  incision  freely  and  boldly  made  at 
once,  the  operator  will  be  able  to  stretch  the  mouth  of  the  wound 
he  has  made  round  to  the  inner  side  of  the  leg,  in  which  stretched 
position  the  skin  is  to  be  held  by  an  assistant,  while  the  operator 
introduces  the  fore-finger  of  his  left  hand,  to  push  back  the  blood- 
vessels and  nerve  (which  run  along  the  inner  borders  of  the  ten- 
dons) against  the  suspensory  ligament,  so  that  they  be  safe  out  of 
the  way,  while  with  the  right  hand  he  insinuates  his  bistoury 
between  them  and  the  flexor  tendons.  Opposing  now  the  cutting 
edge  of  the  bistoury  to  the  tendons  themselves,  he  commences 
incising  them  by  a  steady  but  firm  and  strong  sawing  movement, 
until  both  be  completely  divided.  I  say  he  is  to  hold  the  bistoury 
(which  ought  to  be  a  stout  one)  firmly,  and  to  use  it  with  some 
force,  since  such  is  the  dense  and  tough  texture  of  these  tendons 
that  they  are  not  cut  completely  through  without  some  determi- 
nation. Complete  division  being  made  of  them,  the  heel  of  the 
foot  may  not  (in  all  probability  will  not)  come  down  without 
some  extension  of  the  leg;  and  this  must  be  made,  not  by  such 
violence  as  Mr.  Goodenough  found  himself  compelled  to  use,  still 
with  such  force  as  will,  if  possible,  make  the  limb  straight,  by 
stretching  or  even  tearing  through  adhesions  of  moderate  stand- 
ing, so  far  as  this  can  be  effected  without  the  risk  of  rupturing 
ligament  or  fracturing  bone.  The  giving  way  of  adhesions,  in 
euch  cases,  is  frequently  attended  with  a  sort  of  snap  or  jerk,  de- 
notive  of  their  being  overcome,  a  ad  by  this  the  end  is  known  to 
l>e  answered,  such  adhesions  and  impediments  to  extension  being 
commonly  situate  about  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fetlock-joint. 
The  usual  and  most  effective  mode  of  accomplishing  the  extension 
is,  to  place  the  knee  against  the  front  of  the  fetlock,  and,  grasping 


384  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

the  back  of  the  foot  with  one  hand,  and  the  upper  end  of  the  leg 
with  the  other,  to  use  such  steady  and  moderate  force  as  will  ac- 
complish the  object  without  doing  harm  thereby.  This  done,  the 
divided  ends  of  the  tendons  recede  from  each  other,  leaving  a  gap 
between  them  of  one  or  two  inches,  or  even  more,  dependent  upon 
circumstances." 

Coiins. 

What  is  known  as  corns,  occurring  in  horses,  is  very  different 
from  that  affection  in  the  human  subject,  which  bears  the  same 
name.  In  the  horse  the  affection  is  caused  by  bruise  of  the  sole, 
and  consists  of  extravasation  of  blood.  On  making  an  examina- 
tion in  the  angle  between  the  bars  and  quarters,  the  horn  of  the 
sole  will  appear  red.  This  may  not  be  seen,  however,  until  the 
blacksmith  has  pared  away  a  flake  or  two  of  the  sole. 

Treatment. — Neglected  corns  are  very  apt  to  end  in  suppuration 
(formation  of  matter  within  the  hoof).  This  matter  sometimes 
burrows  in  an  upward  direction,  and  breaks  out  at  the  top  of  the 
hoof.  It  then  forms  what  is  known  as  a  quittor,  the  remedy  for 
which  is  to  make  a  small  opening  into  the  sole,  and  thus  allow 
the  matter  to  escape  in  a  downward  direction.  After  making  the 
orifice  in  the  sole,  it  should  be  dressed  with  a  paste  composed  of 
equal  parts  of  sugar  and  brown  soap.  As  a  dressing  for  common 
corn,  without  suppuration,  I  recommend  equal  parts  of  tar  and 
olive  oil.  This  I  conceive  to  be  one  of  the  best  dressings  ever 
used  for  corns. 

Many  corns  are  produced  by  suffering  the  shoe  to  remain  on  toe 
lonff.  It  thus  becomes  imbedded  in  the  heel  of  the  foot :  the  ex- 
ternal  crust  then  grows  down  on  the  outside  of  the  shoe,  and  the 
bearing  is  thrown  in  the  angular  portion  of  the  sole.  In  unusually 
troublesome  cases  of  corns,  recourse  should  be  had  to  the  bar-shoe. 

Youatt  says :  "  Mr.  Spooner,  of  Southampton,  very  properly 
states  that  the  corns  occasionally  fester,  and  the  purulent  matter 
which  'n  secreted,  having  no  dependent  orifice,  ascends,  torturing 
the  animal  to  a  dreadful  extent,  and  breaks  out  at  the  coronet. 
These  cases  are  very  troublesome.  Sinuses  are  formed,  and  the 
evil  may  end  in  quittor.  A  large  and  free  dependent  orifice  must 
then  be  made,  and  a  poultice  applied,  to  which  should  succeed  a 
solution  of  sulphate  of  zinc,  with  the  application  of  the  compound 
tar  ointment. 


LAMENESS,  FROM  VARIOUS  CAUSES.  CS5 

The  cause  of  corn  is  a  most  important  subject  of  inquiry,  and 
which  a  careful  examination  of  the  foot  and  the  shoe  will  easily 
discover.  The  cause  being  ascertained,  the  effect  may,  to  a  gieai 
extent,  be  afterward  removed.  Turning  out  to  grass,  after  the 
horn  is  a  little  grown,  first  with  the  bar-shoe  and  afterward  with 
the  shoe  fettered  on  one  side,  or  with  tips,  will  often  be  service- 
able. A  horse  that  has  once  had  corns  to  any  considerable  extent 
should,  at  every  shoeing,  have  the  seat  of  corn  well  pared  out,  and 
the  butter  of  antimony  applied.  The  seated  shoe  should  be  used, 
with  a  web  sufficiently  thick  to  cover  the  place  of  corn,  and  extend- 
ing as  far  back  as  it  can  be  made  to  do  without  injury  to  the  frog. 

Low,  weak  heels  should  be  rarely  touched  with  the  knife,  or 
any  thing  more  be  done  to  them  than  lightly  to  rasp  them,  in 
order  to  give  them  a  level  surface.  The  inner  heel  should  be 
particularly  spared.  Corns  are  seldom  found  in  the  hind  feet, 
because  the  heels  are  stronger,  and  the  feet  are  not  exposed  to  so 
much  concussion ;  and  when  they  are  found  there,  they  are  rarely 
or  never  productive  of  lameness.  There  is  nothing  perhaps  in 
which  the  improvement  in  the  veterinary  art  has  relieved  the 
horse  from  so  much  suffering  as  shoeing.  Where  corns  now  exist 
of  any  consequence,  they  are  a  disgrace  to  the  smith,  the  groom, 
and  even  to  the  owner." 


LAMENER8. 

We  have  already  considered  the  nature  and  treatment  of  vari- 
ous forms  of  lameness,  occurring  in  consequence  of  strain  or  sprain 
of  different  parts  of  the  body ;  also  that  attending  rheumatism  and 
diseases  of  the  feet.  It  only  remains  to  offer  a  few  remarks  on 
some  special  forms  of  lameness.  Lameness  occurs  in  one  of  two 
forms.  We  either  find  it  in  the  acute  stage,  when,  from  injury 
or  other  causes,  it  comes  on  suddenly ;  or  else  in  the  chronic  stage- 
that  form  which  has  existed  for  some  time.  Therefore,  there  being 
only  two  forms  of  lameness,  there  are  only  two  indications  to  fulfill, 
namely :  in  the  acute  stage,  we  endeavor  to  lessen  the  activity  in 
the  circulation,  heat,  and  pain  of  the  parts  by  rest  and  cold-water 
bathing;  and  when  pain  exists,  we  mitigate  it  by  bathing  the  af- 
fected parts  with  cold  infusion  of  hops  or  poppy-heads.  When 
the  affection  assumes  a  chronic  type,  we  apply  stimulants  and 
counter-irritants.  The  following  is  the  best  remedy  in  use: 
25 


38b 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERT. 


No.  61.  Aqua  ammonia 3^  oa. 

Spirits  of  camphor 3  oz. 

Salt  (bay  or  rock  salt) 8  oz„ 

Water 2  pints. 

Dissolve  the  salt  in  the  water,  with  a  few  drops  of  aqua  am- 
monia ;  allow  the  impurities  to  settle,  and  add  the  clear  liquor  to 
the  camphor  and  ammonia,  the  latter  having  been  previously 
mixed.  A  portion  of  this  should  be  rubbed  on  the  region  of 
lameness  morning  and  evening.  Sometimes  the  actual  seat  of 
lameness  may  be  somewhat  obscure,  yet  we  can  generally  find  out 
which  limb  it  is  in ;  then,  to  make  sure  that  we  shall  hit  the  mark, 
the  whole  limb  may  be  treated.  Should  counter-irritation  be  nec- 
essary, strong  liniments  and  blisters,  such  ss  are  in  general  use, 
are  recommended. 

This  plate  represents  the  fore  extremity,  cot  off  a  little  above  the 
condyles  of  the  humerus,  with  the  flexor  metacarpi  interna* 
medius  and  the  ulnaris  accessorius  muscles  remov*** 

A,  The  origin  of  the  ulnaris  access^us  muscle. 

B,  The  flexor  metacarpi  interna" 

C,  The  flexor  metacarpi  medius. 

F,  The  radial  nerve. 

G,  The  radial  artery. 
H,  The  radial  vein. 

I,    The  superior  suspensory  ligament,  or  band. 
J,  The  tendon  of  the  flexor  metacarpi  internus  muscle. 
K,  The  cut  edge  of  the  posterior  annular  ligament  trmed  back. 
L,  The  inferior  suspensory  band. 

M,  Oblique  branch  of  nerve  crossing  the  perforatus  tendon. 
N,  The  perforatus  tendon. 
O,  The  perforans  tendon. 
P,   The  inner  metacarpal  nerve. 
Q,  Metacarpal  artery. 
R,   Suspensory  ligament. 
8,   The  metacarpal  vein. 
T,  One  of  the  lumbriei  muscles. 
U,  Cut  edge  of  the  thin,  dense  membrane  which  invests  the  perforaw 

from  a  little  above  the  front  of  the  fetlock  downward. 
V,  The  perforatus  tendon. 
W,  A  portion  of  the  tend- n  lined  internally  with  synovial  mombm* 

removed,  to  expose  the  perforans  as  it  passes  through  tha  W- 

mrcation  of  the  perforatus. 


1W  "S 


m 


SECTION  XIII. 

HORSE    MANAGEMENT,    ETC. 

Prolapsus  Ani — Hemorrhoids,  or  Piles — Pricking  and  Nicking  Horses  Taim 
— Docking  Horses — Anemia — The  Use  and  Abuse  of  the  Curry-comb — 
Horses  and  Cattle  should  have  a  supply  of  Pure  Water — Galled  Back 
— The  Heart — The  quantity  of  Blood  contained  in  a  Horse's  Body — 
Rapidity  of  the  Circulation — The  transfusion  of  Blood — Management 
of  the  Horses  put  in  the  Stable — Strangles. 


Prolapsus  Ani  (Falling  op  the  Fundament  or  Kectum). 

PROLAPSUS  ANI,  or  protrusion  of  the  rectum,  is  a  calamity 
much  to  be  dreaded.  Fortunately  it  very  rarely  occurs,  yet 
when  it  does,  a  valuable  horse  is  almost  sure  to  be  the  subject; 
hence  it  is  a  matter  of  importance  that  persons  who  own  valu- 
able horses  should  know  something  about  the  nature  and  treat- 
ment of  this  mishap.  The  best  authority  on  this  subject  is  Mr. 
Percivall,  from  whose  works  the  following  is  quoted : 

"It  consists  in  inversion  and  prolapse  of  the  mucous  coat  of 
the  rectum,  either  confined  to  the  mucous  membrane  itself,  or 
otherwise  involving  more  or  less  of  the  entire  substance  of  the 
intestine  along  with  it.  The  aspect  of  the  protrusion  will  mainly 
depend  on  the  nature  and  volume  of  the  parts  ejected,  and  upon 
the  time  such  evolution  has  been  in  existence.  When  recent,  so 
readily  does  tumefaction  (swelling)  of  the  parts  follow  their  pro- 
trusion, that  this  speedily  opposes  all  attempts  at  return,  should 
the  animal  make  any,  though,  in  truth,  his  efforts  in  general  have 
the  effect  of  straining  more  gut  out,  and  through  his  straining,  in 
some  cases,  tearing  the  membrane,  and  thus  augmenting  instead 
of  diminishing  the  evolution  as  well.  In  this  manner  arises  a 
large  (sometimes  enormous)  rotund,  red,  wrinkled  redness  of  skin, 
consisting  of  cylinders  of  mucous  membrane,  having  an  aperture 

(387) 


388  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AINi)  St/RGERY. 

closed  through  constriction  in  its  centre,  though,  when  opt»,  issu- 
ing a  mucous  and  sanious  matter,  especially  at  such  time  as  the 
animal  is  straining  afresh.  The  circumflex  action  of  the  sphincter 
ani  around  the  neck  of  the  swelling,  together  with  its  distension 
with  gas,  and  the  action  of  the  air  upon  its  surface,  all  add  to  its 
increase  of  volume  and  change  of  color;  while  the  straining,  at  ths 
same  time,  increases  the  difficulty  of  any  effort  the  practitionci 
may  make  toward  effecting  a  return  of  the  protruded  gut.  With 
its  augmentation  of  volume  comes  a  deepening  redness,  turning, 
through  the  constriction  of  the  sphincter,  to  a  darker,  and  even 
purple  hue,  the  membrane  becoming,  at  the  same  time,  inflated 
and  swollen,  and  gradually  changing  its  color  from  red  to  yellow 
and  to  brown,  though  still  having  a  humid  shining  aspect,  now 
becoming  glairy  from  albuminous  secretion,  which  is  not  only 
mucous,  but  at  times  purulent. 

Causes. — These  may  be  summed  up  in  irritation,  either  direct 
or  sympathetic,  of  the  mucous  membrane  lining  the  anus  and 
rectum.  It  is  possible  that  prolonged  constipation,  from  giving 
rise  to  violent  straining  efforts  at  expulsion  of  dry  and  hardened 
feces,  might  briug  it  on,  or  even  the  strains  of  parturition.  The 
action  produced  by  excessive  purgation  may  cause  it,  but  more 
especially  irritation  of  a  mechanical  kind,  arising  from  direct  in- 
jury to  the  membrane  or  rectum  during  the  operation  of  raking 
or  manual  exploration  of  the  gut,  or  of  clystering.  It  may  prove 
an  accompaniment  of  an  enteritic,  colicky,  or  diarrheal  condition 
of  bowel.  It  is  possible  it  may  ensue  on  nicking,  though  I  never 
knew  it  to  follow  that  operation.  Violent  struggles  of  any  kind, 
as  in  such  a  case  as  is  mentioned  in  the  '  Veterinarian,'  by  Mr.  J. 
"Brown,  V.  S.,  London,  wherein  the  horse  '  had  forced  out  nearly 
a  foot  of  the  rectum  in  struggling  violently  to  release  himself,'" 
while  being  cast. 

Treatment. — The  formidable,  and  indeed  awful,  aspect  of  this 
disease  is  apt  to  operate  in  the  mind  of  the  owner  of  the  animal 
favorably  for  the  veterinary  surgeon,  inasmuch  as  it  gives  rise  to 
his  being  called  to  the  case  sooner  than  he  otherwise  would  have 
been.  Should  the  summons  be  an  early  one,  at  the  time  that 
the  protrusion  is  recent,  and  its  volume  nothing  so  very  alarming, 
judicious  exercise  of  the  taxis,  if  employed  at  the  moment,  may 
succeed  in  the  return  of  the  gut.  Distributing  the  fingers  of  both 
hands   over  the   wrinkled  and  swollen   body  of  the   protrusion. 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  389 

steady,  firm,  and  forcible  pressure  ought  to  be  maintained  against 
it  for  such  length  of  time  as  appears  to  afford  any  chance  of  suc- 
cess, augmenting  the  force  used  whenever  there  be  any  remission 
of  the  straining.  Should  the  first  efforts  of  this  description  fail, 
the  protruded  mass  may  have  its  bulk  lessened  and  constricted  as 
much  as  possible  by  local  application  of  some  sort,  than  which 
none  offers  a  better  chance  of  succeeding  than  such  as  follows 
frorr.  sudden  and  intense  cold,  though  to  a  part  so  sensitive  and 
VJtsoular  the  practice  is  not  devoid  of  danger.  Ice  may  be  pow- 
dered and  inclosed  in  a  linen  bag,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  bolster, 
that  may  be  held  or  braced  with  firmness  upon  the  tumefaction. 
The  contrary  of  aucn  treatment  as  this,  however,  though  the  ob- 
ject be  the  same,  is  generally  preferred — namely,  fomentation, 
medicated  or  not,  with  scarification  of  the  exposed  membrane — 
though  in  other  cases  astringent  applications  are  employed,  with 
a  view  of  causing  contraction  and  diminution  of  the  mass,  such  as 
lime-water,  decoction  of  oak  bark,  solution  of  alum,  etc.;  and 
while  such  proceedings  are  going  on,  it  is  advisable  to  have  the 
hind  parts  raised.  Supposing  we  succeed  in  accomplishing  the 
reduction,  the  chances  are  in  favor  of  the  relapse  of  the  prolapsus, 
and  these  chances  seem  great  in  proportion  to  the  facility  with 
which  the  return  of  the  inverted  gut  has  been  effected.  Indeed, 
50  constant  and  troublesome  does  the  return  in  some  of  these  cases 
become,  that  it  is  necessary  to  contrive  some  sort  of  truss  to  op- 
pose the  descent,  the  same  as  is  done  for  rupture  in  man.  Mr. 
Dycer's  truss  consisted  of  'a  new  wet  chamois  leather,  a  breast- 
plate, and  a  hip  (human)  truss.'  Should  constipation  be  thought 
to  operate  against  reduction,  in  addition  to  clysters,  we  may  ex- 
hibit cathartics  and  aloes  in  solution,  and  should  there  .be  plethora 
and  great  irritability  in  the  membrane  of  the  rectum  and  anus,  a 
blood-letting  will  be  advisable,  while  an  opiate  or  belladonna  clys- 
ter will  be  advantageously  administered,  in  order  to  allay  all  local 
irritation  as  much  as  possible. 

As  a  dernier  and  effective  mode  of  procedure  in  prolapsus 
ani,  when  the  case  proves  either  irreducible,  or,  after  return,  con- 
tinually protrudes  on  any  slight  effort,  such  as  coughing  afresh, 
we  have  recourse,  with  safety  and  certainty,  to  an  operation  con- 
sisting in  excision  of  more  or  less  of  the  inverted  membrane  en- 
veloping the  protruding  portion  of  the  gut.  This  is  an  oj)eration 
of  ancient  date,  though  to  Dupuytren  is  ascribed  the  credit  of 


390  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

introducing  it  into  human  practice,  and  to  the  French  veterinarians 
that  of  transplanting  the  same  into  veterinary  practice.  For- 
merly the  actual  cautery  was  the  instrument  employed  for  the 
removal  of  the  parts  obstructing  reduction ;  but  in  our  own  day 
this  has  been  thrown  aside  for  the  scalpel,  an  instrument  quite  as 
effective,  while  the  simple  act  of  cutting  with  a  knife  gives  so 
much  less  pain  than  cutting  or  dividing  with  the  actual  cautery. 
In  general,  it  is  considered  necessary  to  cast  the  horse  for  the  ope- 
ration ;  but  Mr.  Gregory,  V.  S.,  did  not  cast  his  patient,  but 
merely  put  on  a  side-line,  and  had  one  leg  held  up  and  the  tail 
kept  on  one  side;  and,  most  assuredly,  the  standing  position  of 
the  patient  is  one  which,  in  such  an  operation,  offers  no  mean 
advantages  to  the  operator,  provided  he  can  avail  himself  of  it 
without  any  personal  danger.  A  great  preservation  against  re- 
fractoriness in  an  operation  of  the  kind,  at  the  moment  when  any 
pain  is  felt,  is  a  twitch,  well  put  on,  and  well  and  timely  turned. 
The  horse  secured,  with  his  tail  turned  out  of  the  way,  an  incision, 
forming  a  circle,  is  to  be  carried  around  the  protruding  mass,  at 
sufficient  distance  from  the  constricted  part  of  the  neck  of  the 
protrusion  to  leave  behind  it  such  parts  as  are  distended  from 
tumefaction  or  infiltration,  whose  removal  will  render  the  retrac- 
tion of  the  gut  an  easy  and  natural  effoct.  In  making  incision, 
it  may  be  advisable  to  take  up  and  tie  with  a  silk  ligature  any 
vessel  met  with  of  size  enough  to  issue  a  current  of  blood,  though 
eometimes  no  such  precaution  is  required.  In  the  case  mentioned 
\  y  Mr.  Gregory,  not  more  than  a  quart  of  blood  was  lost.  Tl  ie 
:ncision  ought  to  be  made  of  sufficient  depth  to  penetrate  com- 
pletely  through  the  substance  of  the  mucous  membrane,  however 
morbidly  thickened  that  may  be,  without,  however,  running  a 
risk  of  wounding  the  muscular  coat  beneath  it,  the  object  being 
to  dissect  the  former  away  and  strip  it  off  the  latter,  so  as  to  lessen 
the  bulk  of  the  mass  to  that  degree  that  return  becomes  a  volun- 
tary and  facile  action  of  the  animal  himself.  So  soon,  however, 
as  this  denudation  has  been  carried  near  to  the  inverted  anus, 
care  must  be  taken  not  to  dissect  or  otherwise  injure  the  sphincter 
of  that  part,  lest  we  leave  the  horse  with  an  imperfection  in  closing 
an  outlet  of  so  important  a  function.  A  soft  or  mash  diet  should, 
for  a  few  weeks,  succeed  the  operation,  with  abstinence  from  hay, 
which,  from  its  fibrous,  prickly  nature,  must  be  particularly  offen- 
aive  to  th«  denuded  gut.     Occasional  emollient  clysters  are  also 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  391 

recommendable,  especially  when  there  appears  any  pain  or  diffi- 
culty in  giving  exit  to  the  feces." 

Hemorrhoids,  or  Piles  in  the  Horse. 

The  following  case  of  piles,  occurring  in  the  practice  of  Mr 
P.  Wals,  V.  S.,  is  here  introduced  from  the  "  Veternarian : " 

"On  the  evening  of  March  13,  1851,  I  was  summoned  hastily 
to  attend  a  brown  carriage-mare,  belonging  to  an  employer  about 
a  mile  distant  from  Xorwich,  which  was  reported  to  have  some- 
thing '  bloody '  hanging  out  of  her  rectum.  The  coachman  who 
came  said  it  had  made  its  appearance  two  or  three  times  during 
the  day  after  dunging,  but  had  always  returned  again,  until  just 
before  he  left  home,  when  a  portion  of  it  was  left  out,  and  the 
mare  became  very  uneasy.  On  my  arrival,  I  found,  as  reported, 
the  mare  in  pain,  indicated  by  a  peculiar  switching  or  lashing  of 
the  tail,  and  stamping  of  the  hind  feet ;  but  she  had  not  lain 
down,  although  she  made  several  attempts  to  do  so.  It  first  struck 
me  as  a  case  of  prolapsus  ani,  but,  on  examination,  it  proved  to  be 
a  true  case  of  piles.  The  tumor  protruding  was  about  the  size  of 
a  duck's  egg,  presenting  piedoeiy  the  appearance  of  a  pilous  grape 
in  the  human  subject,  only,  of  course,  much  larger.  I  had  some 
difficulty  in  returning  it,  in  consequence  of  the  powerful  action 
of  the  sphinuier  ani,  which,  no  doubt,  accounted  for  the  pain;  but, 
having  accomplished  it,  the  mare  became  easy,  and  continued  so 
for  some  little  time.  I  thought  it  right,  however,  to  have  her 
removea  to  my  infirmary,  as  I  anticipated  a  return  of  the  tumor 
when  she  again  dunged,  in  which  I  was  not  deceived,  since,  on  her 
arrival  at  my  stable,  I  found  it  out  again.  On  making  a  more 
minute  examination,  I  discovered  smaller  tumors  round  and  about 
the  larger  one,  the  latter,  however,  being  the  only  one  that  pro- 
truded. The  mare  being  naturally  of  an  irritable  temperament, 
and  consequently  dunging  more  frequently  than  one  less  so  would 
have  done,  induced  me  to  have  a  careful  assistant  remain  up  with 
b.2r  during  the  night,  for  the  purpose  of  returning  the  tumor 
wl:2never  it  made  its  reappearance,  which  it  invariably  was  said 
to  do  after  each  evacuation,  pain  being  constantly  present  at  such 
time. 

Reflecting  on  the  case  next  morning,  and  observing  consider- 
able mischief  was  being  done  by  the  necessary  manipulation.  I 


392  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

foresaw  I  should  have  a  very  tioublesorne  case,  unless  I  could  hit 
upon  some  plan  of  dilating  the  sphincter  so  as  to  allow  of  a  return 
of  the  tumor  without  so  much  handling  of  it.  This  I  accom- 
plished in  the  following  manner :  I  had  the  mare  placed  in  a  nar- 
row stall,  the  back  part  of  which  was  well  bedded  with  litter,  so 
that,  in  standing,  her  hind  quarters  were  elevated  six  or  eight 
inches  higher  than  the  fore  ones.  I  then  procured  a  pair  of  glove- 
sticks,  such  as  glovers  use  for  opening  the  fingers  of  gloves,  and, 
ha\  ing  dipped  their  ends  in  oil,  gently  introduced  them  about  an 
inch  or  an  inch  and  a  half  into  the  rectum,  underneath  the  tumor, 
letting  it,  in  fact,  rest  upon  them.  In  this  way,  by  pressing  the 
handles,  dilatation  took  place,  and  the  tumor  receded  with  little  or 
no  difficulty.  This  treatment  I  persevered  in  for  four  days,  in 
conjunction  with  a  constant  application  of  cold  water  to  the  parts, 
at  the  end  of  which  time  such  great  improvement  had  taken  place 
that  the  use  of  the  sticks  became  no  longer  necessary.  In  four 
days  more  the  parts  appeared  to  have  become  quite  reinstated, 
which,  of  course,  rendered  any  further  treatment  unnecessary.  I 
gave  no  medicine,  except  a  very  mild  aperient  in  the  first  instance, 
but  kept  the  bowels  lax  with  bran,  linseed,  carrots,  etc.  The  mare 
being  sold  shortly  afterward,  I  lost  sight  of  her,  and  am  unable  to 
say,  in  consequence,  whether  any  return  of  the  difficulty  has  taken 
place,  but  I  should  think  such  an  occurrence  not  improbable  " 

Pricking  or  Nicking  Horses'  Tails. 

The  English  method  of  nicking  horses  is,  instead  of  inserting  a 
knife  and  making  a  subcutaneous  section  of  the  muscles  of  the 
tail,  known  as  the  depressors,  to  make  three  straight  incisions  at 
equal  distances  right  across  the  tail.  By  this  method  the  muscles 
of  the  tail  are  effectually  or  completely  divided.  The  first  incision 
is  usually  made  about  two  inches  from  the  root  of  the  tail,  and 
the  other  two  at  equal  distances  from  the  first,  in  a  direction  toward 
the  end  of  the  tail.  The  tail  is  then  kept  perpendicular,  in  the 
usual  manner,  by  pulleys.  It  is  said  that  by  this  method  a  more 
graceful  curvature  of  the  tail  is  secured,  which  I  believe  is  a  fact, 
fet  the  operation  is  any  thing  but  pleasant  to  the  horse.  It  is  me 
of  the  fashionable  barbarisms  of  civilization. 

The  English  method  of  nicking,  although  the  most  unsightly 
and  Darbarous,  is  still  the  safest,  as  there  is  less  liability  to  lock- 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  393 

j  w.  It  is  well-known  that  lock-jaw  more  frequently  ensues 
from  a  punctured  wound  than  a  clean  cut  or  incision ;  yet  when 
nicking  or  pricking,  after  the  American  fashion,  (if  care  be  taken 
to  make  the  orifice  through  the  skin  sufficiently  large,  so  that  pus, 
afterward  secreted,  may  escape,)  I  think  there  is  no  danger.  The 
danger  arises  from  the  imprisonment  of  pus  by  closure  of  the 
orifice  in  the  skin.  In  healthy  subjects  the  orifice  made  through 
the  skin  will  often  unite  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours ;  then,  should 
morbid  matter  accumulate  within  the  substance  of  the  tail,  it  bur- 
rows, forms  an  abscess,  or  else  becomes  absorbed,  producing  lock- 
jaw. Therefore,  I  would  advise  persons  having  pricked  or  nicked 
horses  under  their  care,  to  pay  strict  attention  to  such,  and  see 
that  the  orifices  are  kept  open,  which  may  easily  be  done  by  oc- 
casionally inserting  the  point  of  a  penknife.  The  skin  should  be 
the  last  to  heal.  The  healing  process  must  be  perfected  in  the 
interior  first,  and,  lastly,  the  skin.  Should  fungus  or  "  proud 
flesh  "  appear,  apply  powdered  bloodroot,  burnt  alum,  or  red  pre- 
cipitate. When  an  abscess  forms  at  the  base  of  the  tail  after 
pricking,  apply  a  poultice  of  flaxseed;  and  when  the  tail  is  much 
inflamed  and  swollen,  it  should  be  bathed  frequently  with  the 
following : 

No.  62.  Acetic  acid 1   part. 

Water 7  parts. 

Mix. 

"When  horses  are  nicked  in  warm  weather,  the  tail  should  be 
moistened  with  tincture  of  aloes ;  this  will  keep  the  flies  off. 

Persons  who  are  not  experts  in  the  art  of  pricking  are  apt  to 
wound,  and  sometimes  completely  sever  the  coccygeal  arteries, 
thereby  causing  an  unnecessary  and  dangerous  hemorrhage.  In 
such  cases,  I  should  advise  the  operator  to  crowd  into  the  orifice 
a  small  piece  of  dry  sponge.  This  will  arrest  the  hemorrhage, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  keep  the  divided  ends  of  the  muscles  apart, 
so  that  they  can  not  reunite ;  hence  it  is  not  necessary  to  put  the 
tail  into  pulleys  for  some  hours,  or  until  bleeding  has  ceased. 
When  this  is  the  case,  the  sponge  may  be  removed  by  means  of 
a  small  pair  of  forceps. 

The  success  in  securing  what  is  denominated  a  fashionable  tail 
depends  altogether  on  the  skill  of  the  operator,  who  must  make 
a  complete  division  of  the  muscles  beneath  the  tail  only,  as  their 
action  is  to   compress   and   depress  that   useful  appendage;   for. 


5CJ4  DADD'S  VETERINARY   MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

snould  the  incision  be  made  too  high  on  the  side  of  the  tail,  the 
curvators  may  be  partly  or  wholly  severed.  Then  the  tail  will 
ultimately  diverge  laterally,  or,  in  stable  language,  it  will  be  said 
that  "the  horse  does  not  carry  his  tail  straight."  To  remedy 
this,  the  curvator  on  the  opposite  side  must  be  divided ;  then  the 
tail  has  to  be  forcibly  drawn  and  kept  in  an  opposite  direction 
from  the  curved  side,  so  as  to  prevent  the  muscle  from  reuniting. 
In  the  course  of  a  short  time  granulations  are  thrown  out  from 
the  surface  of  the  divided  ends  of  the  muscle.  It  then  acquires 
length,  and  thus  the  tail  becomes  straight. 

ANATOMY    OF    THE    TAIL. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  wish  to  practice  the  art  of  "  nick- 
ing or  pricking  "  understandingly,  I  now  propose  to  give  a  brief 
exposition  of  the  anatomy  of  the  tail. 

Bones  of  the  Tail. — The  bones  of  the  tail,  numbering  fifteen, 
sometimes  sixteen,  are  situated  at  the  back  of  the  rump-bone,  or 
sacrum.  They  are  not  a  continuation  of  the  vertebral  bones,  but 
are  an  appendage  to  the  haunch  bone.  The  bones  entire  are  termed 
coccyx  (from  the  Greek,  which  signifies  cuckoo,  the  bill  of  which 
bird  the  appendage  to  the  sacrum,  or  haunch-bone  of  man,  is  said 
to  represent) ;  and,  in  order  to  prevent  confusion  in  anatomical 
terms,  veterinary  smgeons  have  applied  the  same  name  to  the  tail 
bones  of  the  horse.  Hence,  when  the  terms  coccygis  or  coccygeal 
r.re  used,  they  have  some  relation  to  the  tail.  The  bones  are 
'oughened  on  their  surfaces,  and  have  depressions  and  eminences 
or  the  insertion  of  ligaments,  tendons,  and  muscles. 

Muscles  of  the  Tail. — These  muscles  are  divisible  into  four  pairs. 
They  are  most  distinctly  seen  at  the  root  of  the  tail,  but,  in  their 
course  toward  the  end  of  the  same,  they  become  blended  one  with 
another. 

The  first  pair  of  coccygeal  muscles  are  situated  on  the  upper 
part  of  the  tail.  They  are  attached  to  the  sacrum  and  to  the 
bones  of  the  tail.     Their  action  is  to  raise  or  erect  the  tail. 

The  second  pair  are  termed  depressors  coccyx,  and  are  situated 
at  the  under  part  of  the  tail.  They  are  attached  to  the  under- 
neath part  of  the  sacrum,  and  to  the  same  locality  on  the  bones 
of  the  tail.  They  are  antagonistic  to  the  first  pair}  and  their  di- 
rect action  is  to  depress  the  tail.  These  are  the  muscles  which 
should  be  divided  in  the  process  of  pricking  or  nicking. 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  395 

lie  third  pair  are  termed  curvators  coccyx.  These  muscles  are 
situated  on  the  sides  of  the  tail,  between  the  first  and  second  pairs. 
They  are  attached  to  the  fourth  and  fifth  lumbar  vertebra,  and  to 
the  sides  or  transverse  processes  of  all  the  bones  of  the  tail.  Their 
action  is  to  curve  or  flex  the  tail  toward  the  quarter  and  sides,  and 
the  division  of  one  of  these  muscles  causes  permanent  flexure  of 
the  tail  in  an  opposite  direction.  Considering  the  tail  as  a  meant 
of  defense  in  switching  off  flies,  etc.,  these  muscles  are  the  principal 
ones  called  into  action.  t 

The  fourth  pair  are  termed  compressors  coccyx.  They  are  lo- 
cated at  the  sides  and  root  of  the  tail,  and  are  inserted  into  the 
back  part  of  the  hip  bones  (ischium),  and  into  the  five  first  bones 
of  the  tail.  The  action  of  these  muscles  is  to  maintain  the  tail 
forcibly  against  the  anus.  In  the  mare,  these  muscles  protect  her 
from  ravishment. 

The  arteries  of  the  Tail  are  termed  coccygeal  arteries.  Those  lo- 
cated at  the  sides  are  called  lateral  coccygeal,  and  the  one  found 
in  the  lower  or  inferior  region  is  called  inferior  coccygeal. 

Nerves  of  the  Tail. — As  with  the  muscles,  so  with  the  nerves. 
There  are  four  pairs  of  coccygeal  nerves.  They  are  not  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  true  spinal  cord,  but  are  given  off  from  it.  They 
are  distributed  to  the  muscular  filaments,  to  the  skin,  and  at  the 
extremity  of  the  tail. 

Docking  Horses. 

All  persons  familiar  with  the  old  tactics  of  " jockeyism  "  and 
the  tricks  of  horse  trade,  will  understand  what  is  meant  by  the 
above  caption.  It  is  a  most  cruel  and  barbarous  outrage  on  one 
of  Nature's  menials,  and  I  feel  inclined  to  indorse  the  sentiments 
of  the  profound  poet  Tupper,  when  he  says,  "  In  that  great  day, 
when  crime  is  sentenced,  cruel  man  shall  not  go  uncondemned 
because  no  complaining  brute  stands  there  accusing,  for  our  Fa- 
ther careth  when  a  sparrow  dies." 

Horses  should  never  be  deprived  of  any  part  of  that  valuable 
weapon  of  defense  known  as  the  tail.  It  is  a  part  and  parcel  of 
the  organization  of  the  horse,  and  to  deprive  him  of  what  Nature 
gave  him,  after  the  fashion  of  "  doing  all  things  well,"  is  an  out- 
rage which  should  be  considered  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  gentle- 
man to  perpetrate.     Besides  the  cruelty  which  is  acknowledged 


391  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERr. 

to  b .  identified  with  the  operation,  there  are  other  reasons,  on  the 
grounds  of  physiology,  why  the  tail  should  be  left  entire,  espe- 
cially in  the  case  of  a  mare;  but,  as  the  reader  is  probably  con- 
versant with  the  facts  in  the  case,  I  shall  not  enter  into  a  discussion 
of  the  same,  but  prefer  to  introduce  the  following  paragraph* 
written  by  a  person  who  aims  at  reform: 

"  I  am  glad  that  the  abominable  practice  of  docking  and  nick- 
ing horses  is  going  out  of  fashion.  It  prevails  in  no  country  in 
the  world  besides  England  and  the  United  States.  We  got  it 
from  the  mother  country,  and  the  sooner  we  leave  it  off  the  bet- 
ter. It  is  wonderful  how  any  body  but  an  ignorant,  narrow- 
minded  blockhead  of  a  jockey  should  ever  have  thought  of  it 
being  as  offensive  to  good  taste  as  it  is  a  violation  of  every  hu- 
mane feeling.  Has  Nature  done  her  work  in  such  a  bungling 
manner  in  forming  that  paragon  of  animals,  the  horse,  that  a  large 
piece  of  bone  should  be  chopped  off  with  an  ax  to  reduce  him  to 
symmetry,  or  that  beauty  and  grace  can  be  obtained  only  by  cut- 
ting a  pair  of  his  large  muscles?  'The  docking  and  nicking  of 
horses,'  says  an  intelligent  writer  on  farriery,  '  is  a  shockingly  cruel 
practice,  and  ought  to  be  abandoned  by  the  whole  race  of  mankind. 
Every  human  being,  possessed  of  feeling  and  a  magnanimous 
mind,  must  confess  that  it  is  cruel  and  entirely  uncalled  for;  but 
that  creature  called  man  attempts  thus  to  mend  the  works  of  his 
almighty,  wise  Creator,  in  doing  which  he  often  spoils  and  dis- 
figures them.  What  is  more  beautiful  than  a  fine  horse,  with  an 
elegant,  long  tail  and  a  flowing  mane  waving  in  the  sports  of  the 
wind,  and  exhibiting  itself  in  a  perfect  state  of  nature?  Besides, 
our  Creator  has  given  them  for  defense  as  well  as  beauty.'  The 
same  author  relates  an  instance  of  a  fine  hunting  horse,  owned  by 
an  Englishman,  which  would  carry  its  rider  over  the  highest  five- 
barred  gate  with  ease ;  but  he  thought  that  the  horse  did  not  carry 
as  good  a  tail  as  he  wished;  he  therefore  had  him  nicked,  and 
when  the  horse  got  well,  he  could  scarcely  carry  over  two  bare. 
i  Thus,'  said  he,  '  I  have  spoiled  a  fine  horse ;  and  no  wonder,  foi 
it  weakened  his  loins.'  Any  man  of  common  sense  would  give 
ten  per  cent,  more  for  a  fine  horse  whose  tail  had  never  been 
mutilated,  than  for  one  which  had  been  under  the  hands  of  a 
jockey.'* 


horse  management,  etc.  39t 

Anemia. 

This  signifies  an  impoverished  state  of  the  blood,  usually  oc- 
casioned by  want  of  nutritious  food  and  exposure  to  inclement 
weather.  I  was  called,  a  short  time  ago,  to  see  a  yearling,  said 
to  be  ailing  and  unthrifty,  and  had  been  so  for  some  time. 

Symptoms. — The  principal  symptoms  were  as  follows :  The 
head,  face,  and  eyes  were  in  a  dropsical  condition  and  much  swol- 
len ;  underneath  the  heart,  and  along  the  lower  part  of  the  abdo- 
men, dropsical  swellings  were  also  observed;  the  membranes  of 
the  mouth  and  nose  appeared  pale,  almost  bloodless ;  the  pulse  was 
quite  slow,  and  the  action  of  the  heart  feeble;  the  respirations 
were  somewhat  hurried,  yet  the  lungs  were  not  expanded  to  their 
full  capacity.  I  was  informed  that  the  urine  was  thick,  and  of  a 
cream-like  color,  and  the  feces  hard  and  scanty.  The  muscular 
system  was  spare  and  wiry ;  the  ribs  could  be  easily  counted,  and 
the  animal  was  unsteady  on  his  legs.  From  such  symptoms  as 
these  the  reader  will  perceive  that  the  case  was  one  of  debility, 
and  from  the  fact  that  the  animal  had  been  confined  to  an  innu- 
tritious  diet,  or,  rather,  like  a  hen,  had  to  scratch  for  a  living. 
It  will  also  be  inferred  that  the  debility  was  the  result  of  partial 
starvation. 

Treatment. — I  gave  the  animal  one  drachm  of  sulphate  of  iron, 
and  three  ounces  of  the  fluid  extract  of  resin  -weed  per  day,  dur- 
ing a  period  of  ten  days.  At  the  same  time,  he  was  liberally  fed 
on  oats  and  good  timothy  hay,  under  which  treatment  he  rapidly 
gained  in  health  and  strength,  and  soon  recovered^. 

Anemia  (Thinning  of  the  Blood). 

1  do  not  advocate  that  the  curry-comb  shall  be  entirely  dis- 
pensed with  ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  needed  for  the  purpose  of 
removing  scurf  and  dirt  which  has  been  removed  from  thj  ex- 
ternal surface  of  the  body  by  means  of  the  brush,  and,  probably, 
this  was  the  intention  of  the  man  who  first  invented  a  curry- 
comb, and,  in  the  next  place,  the  curry-comb  may  be  needed  to 
scratch  off  or  remove  mud  that  may  have  become  dry  and  stiff  on 
th*  limbs  of  horses ;  and  for  these  reasons,  if  for  no  others,  I  sup- 
pose we  can  not  dispense  with  the  curry-comb.  There  are  some 
parts  where  the  curry-comb  should  not  be  used — for  example,  on 


398  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

the  iiiaide  of  the  thighs,  flanks,  chest,  and  face,  where  the  skin  ia 
not  so  thick,  and  more  sensitive  than  some  other  regions  of  the 
body.  Some  horses,  especially  those  of  a  strongly-marked,  nervous 
temperament,  have  very  sensitive  skins,  and  can  not  even  bear  ;) 
fly  to  light  on  their  bodies  without  evincing  signs  of  pain  an<» 
irritation.  On  such  the  curry-comb  should  be  used  gently  and 
in  a  spirit  of  mercy.  There  are  other  horses,  however,  especially 
those  of  the  lymphatic  temperament,  and  whose  skins  are  less 
sensitive,  who  can  bear  the  action  of  the  curry-comb  without 
much  flinching,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  a  merciful  man  to  consider 
this  matter  when  cleaning  a  horse.  Thoroughbred  horses,  which 
include  a  vast  number  of  the  sanguine  temperament,  have  a  very 
active  circulation  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  body,  and  this 
vast  circulation,  through  the  superficial  vessels,  argues  a  delicate 
sense  of  touch.  To  them  the  curry-comb,  unless  used  very  gently, 
is  severe  torture. 


Horses  and  Cattle  should  have  a  Supply  of 

Pure  Water. 

Although  few  persons  think  it  worth  while  to  pay  much  atten- 
tion to  this  department  of  husbandry,  yet  a  little  reflection  will 
convince  any  reasonable  person  of  the  value  and  importance  of 
furnishing  animals  with  a  constant  supply  of  pure  water.  Pure, 
cool  water  is  said  to  be  a  God-send  to  a  thirsty  throat ;  and  as  ani- 
mals are  apt  to  have  thirsty  throats,  they  should  be  permitted  to 
enjoy  a  luxury  which  costs  but  a  trifle,  and  operates  very  favora- 
bly in  promoting  their  health.  All  classes  of  domestic  animals 
have  as  great  an  aversion  to  impure,  filthy  water  as  ourselves,  and 
the  former  will  often  turn  away  with  disgust  from  the  filthy  stuff 
called  water  which  is  often  found  in  water-troughs  on  the  road- 
side, and  within  the  precincts  of  the  barn  and  in  some  pastures. 
The  common,  stagnated  pond-water,  which  many  poor  creatures 
sire  compelled  to  imbibe,  is  often  the  exciting  cause  of  disease, 
especially  in  the  Western  States,  where  decayed  vegetable  matter 
abounds. 

Pure  water  will  never  injure  an  animal.  I  do  not  believe  the 
stories  which  are  told  about  horses  becoming  fouudered  in  conse- 
quence of  drinking  pure  water.  In  a  majority  of  cases,  Mr.  Fast- 
man  is  Uarneable.     He  has  probably  either  overdriven  or  over- 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  399 

worked  the  ereature,  or  else  has  suffered  it,  when  heated,  to  cool 
off  without  the  necessary  care  and  attention  which  should  always 
be  observed  when  animals  are  fatigued  or  perspiring  freely.  Hard 
usage,  willful  neglect,  and  wanton  cruelty  are  more  likely  to  pro- 
duce disease  than  the  universal  beverage,  so  acceptable  to  the  palate 
3f  a  weary  or  thirsty  horse.  How  often  do  we  see  a  "  let "  horse 
iXime  into  the  stable  all  exhausted  and  used  up,  scarcely  able  to 
s.lvance  one  limb  before  another !  Examine  into  the  facts,  and  we 
shall  find  that  the  powers  of  the  subject  have  perhaps  been  over- 
taxed. He  has  been  driven  too  far,  or  at  too  rapid  a  rate,  for  the 
present  state  of  his  constitution  to  endure,  and  perhaps  he  has  not 
had  sufficient  nourishment  to  repair  the  waste  incidental  to  the 
living  mechanism  under  the  states  of  rapid  and  protracted  labor. 
Is  not  this  enough  to  account  lor  the  used-up  condition  ?  Is  it 
not  more  rational  to  suppose  that  abuse  of  the  respiratory  organa 
and  those  of  locomotion  operates  far  more  unfavorably  on  the 
horse  than  water  ?  It  is.  But  Mr.  Fastman  must,  if  there  be 
any  blame  rightly  belonging  to  him,  try  to  shift  the  same  from  hia 
shoulders,  and,  therefore,  he  avails  himself  of  a  popular  error— 
"  He  drank  too  much  water  f  yet  the  individual  had  no  means  of 
ascertaining  the  precise  quantity  needed. 

We  might  say,  as  regards  some  horses,  whose  labors  are  very 
fatiguing,  that  they  come  from  their  work,  and,  as  soon  as  unhar- 
nessed, go  to  the  trough,  and  imbibe  from  one  to  three  buckets 
without  any  bad  effect.  Some  animals  need  more  water  than 
ethers.  The  kind  of  work,  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  nature  of  the  food,  whether  it  be  wet  or  dry,  all  tend  to 
diversify  an  animal's  wants.  The  domesticated  horse  requires  a 
bountiful  supply  of  good  water.  His  body  is  composed  of  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  same,  and  he  can  no  more  exist  without  it 
than  he  can  without  food.  A  cow  or  ox  is  probably  the  best  judge 
as  regards  its  own  wants  as  to  the  quantity  of  water  needed.  It 
in  not  the  quantity  which  a  rational  animal  imbibes  which  does 
harm,  but  it  is  the  quality  that  demands  our  attention. 

Thirsty  people  drink  all  the  cold  water  they  need.  Then  why 
deprive  a  cow  or  horse  of  what  they  actually  require  ?  Consider 
the  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  populous  cities  during  the  sum- 
mer season.  Thirst  amounts  almost  to  a  disease,  and,  in  view  of 
quenching  it,  the  thirsty  are  continually  imbibing  water,  rendered 
cold,  hot,  sour,  sweet,  or  alkaline,  just  as  fancy  dictates  or  as  fashion 


400  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  ANL  SURGERY. 

prevails.  Cold  icings  and  other  fixings  are  called  into  requisi- 
tion to  smother  the  fire  of  thirst  which  rages  within.  Every  body 
partakes  freely — the  young  and  the  aged,  the  exhausted  and  vigor- 
ous, the  laborer  wearied  by  a  hard  day's  work,  and  the  rich  man 
of  no  work — each  and  all  are  doing  their  best  to  see  the  bottom 
of  the  pitcher,  and  to  pitch  their  bodies  into  the  watery  element. 
Yet,  after  all,  how  few  persons  complain  of  any  bad  effect  from  it 

Inquire  into  the  history  of  some  of  the  acute  maladies  that  are 
supposed  to  arise  from  water-drinking,  and  it  will  be  found  thai 
many  of  the  sufferers  have  a  peculiarity  of  constitution  which  ren- 
ders them  amenable  to  the  laws  of  primogenital  disease,  which, 
although  latent  under -ordinary  circumstances,  can,  by  disturbing 
the. life  forces,  through  neglect,  cruelty,  and  overwork,  be  developed 
at  almost  any  time  of  life. 

Animals  should  never  be  allowed  to  drink  pond-water.  They 
should  either  have  access  to  a  running  stream  or  a  clean  water- 
trough. 

Galled  Back. 

Galled  back,  o*  sore  back,  is  usually  occasioned  by  bad-fitting 
saddle  or  harness.  If  that  be  the  case,  the  shape  of  the  same  must 
be  altered  so  as  to  correspond  to  the  shape  of  that  portion  of  the 
back  which  comes  in  contact  with  it.  This  can  be  done  by  pad- 
ding the  concavities  with  lamb's  wool,  and  in  chambering  the  con- 
vexities so  that  there  shall  be  no  unequal  pressure  nor  causes  for 
irritation.  Yet,  after  all,  it  may  be  more  economical  to  procure  a 
new  article  and  a  better  fit ;  and  this  may  also  be  the  most  humane 
policy. 

Treatment. — So  soon  as  an  abrasion  is  discovered  on  the  back, 
tne  animal  should  be  excused  from  duty  for  a  few  days.  The 
abraded  part  should  be  lubricated  two  or  three  times  daily  with 
common  tar  and  olive  oil,  equal  parts,  and  this  will  soon  restore 
the  parts  to  soundness.  Should  there  be  no  abrasion,  yet  tume- 
faction, heat,  and  tenderness,  a  cold-water  pledget,  renewed  as 
occasion  seems  to  require,  will  improve  the  condition  of  the  parts, 
when  recourse  must  be  had  to  the  tar  and  oil  lotion.  Sometimes, 
in  consequence  of  neglect,  the  integument  becomes  callous  or  indu- 
rated. This  condition  was  termed  by  ancient  farriers  "  sit-fast." 
The  treatment  for  this  consists  in  smearing  the  callous  with  the 
following : 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  401 

Mo.  03.  Iodide  of  potass 1   dr. 

Simple  ointment 6  dr. 

Glycerine 2  dr. 

Mix  these  ingredients  well  together,  and  they  are  then  fit  foi 
we.  A  few  applications  of  this  ointment  will  have  the  effect  of 
removing  the  callous,  when  a  healthy  surface  will  appear. 

Some  animals,  owing  to  a  peculiarity  of  constitution  or  of  form ; 
will  chafe  in  those  parts  which  come  in  contact  with  the  collar  and 
saddle,  and  no  human  foresight  nor  mechanical  contrivance  can 
always  succeed  in  preventing  the  same.  For  example,  some  horses 
are  humory,  as  the  saying  is — perhaps  have  a  taint  of  scrofula 
about  them — and  if  they  perform  a  hard  day's  labor  in  the  warm 
season  of  the  year,  notwithstanding  they  be  harnessed  in  the  best 
possible  manner,  they  will  come  home  at  night  with  either  galled 
shoulders  or  sore  back.  For  such  cases  as  these  the  harness-maker, 
with  all  his  skill  and  ingenuity,  has  no  other  remedy  than  that  of 
a  palliative  character. 

The  Heart. 

The  current  of  blood  is  said  to  be  put  in  motion  by  a  muscular 
orjran  known  as  the  heart,  which  is  located  within  the  thorax,  or 

O  .  7  7 

chest.  The  blood  is  distributed  to  all  the  various  ramifications 
of  the  body  by  means  of  vessels  called  arteries,  and  it  is  returned 
to  the  heart  by  the  veins.  The  red  color  of  the  blood  is  due  to 
the  presence  if  red  corpuscles,  which  are  always  to  be  found  in  the 
blood  of  the  vertebrata.  In  some  of  the  invertebrata  the  blood 
is  white,  or  resembles  the  color  of  chyle. 

Mode  of  Circulation. — The  blood,  having  been  propelled  from 
the  left  or  posterior  ventricle  of  the  heart  to  all  the  various  rami- 
fications of  the  body,  passes  through  the  extreme  vessels  (capil- 
lar}') into  the  veins.  These  veins  terminate  in  a  vessel  known  as 
vena  cava,  anterior  and  posterior,  both  of  which  sections  termi- 
nate in  the  right  or  anterior  auricle.  This  auricle  contracts,  and 
the  venous  blood  thus  finds  its  way  into  the  right  ventricle,  where 
Ihs  pulmonary  arteries  have  their  origin.  By  aid  of  the  muscular 
power  of  this  ventricle,  the  blood  is  sent  through  the  pulmonary 
arteries  to  the  lungs  (aeration  and  oxygenation.)  The  color  of 
this  blood  is  dark,  almost  black.  It  is  highly  carbonized,  abounds 
in  morbific  matter  and  the  worn-out  materials  of  the  body,  and 
in  this  state  is  a  non-supporter  of  vitality.  In  this  condition, 
26 


40k  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

then,  venous  blood  enters  the  pulmonary  tissues.  The  arteriali- 
zacion  of  the  blood  which  follows  is  a  process  more  essential  to 
vital  integrity  than  the  assimilation  of  food;  for  animals  can  live 
a  long  time  without  food,  but  they  can  only  exist  a  short  time 
unless  the  blood  be  oxygenized. 

The  pulmonary  arteries  branch  off  into  minute  ramifications  on 
the  surface  of  the  air-cells  of  the  lungs,  and  where  these  minute 
divisions  terminate  others  commence,  termed  venous  radicles, 
which  ultimately  become  large  veins.  By  the  pulmonary  veins 
the  oxygenized  blood  is  returned  to  the  left  auricle  and  ventricle 
of  the  heart.  This  route  of  the  blood  from  heart  to  lungs,  and  back 
again  from  lungs  to  heart,  is  termed  the  lesser  circulation.  The 
left  ventricle  delivers  the  blood  into  the  great  aorta,  and  thence 
to  every  part  of  the  body.     This  is  called  the  greater  circulation. 

Difference  between  Veins  and  Arteries. — The  veins  differ  from 
arteries  in  being  less  dense,  having  no  muscular  nor  ligamentary 
tunics  like  the  arteries,  and,  therefore,  offer  but  little  resistance  to 
tight  collars  and  tight-fitting  harness  and  circingles,  which  are  apt 
to  interfere  with  the  return  of  blood  to  the  heart.  The  incapacity 
of  veins  returning  blood  to  the  heart  in  the  same  ratio  in  whicn  it 
is  carried  by  the  arteries,  is  proved  from  the  fact  that  the  former 
are  twice  as  voluminous  as  the  latter.  The  veins  also  differ  in 
their  internal  arrangement  from  the  arteries,  the  former  being 
furnished,  at  proper  distances,  with  valves,  which  guard  against  a 
retrograde  venous  action. 

The  Quantity  op  Blood  Contained  in  the  Body 

of  a  Horse. 

Mr.  Perctvall,  who  is  our  chief  authority  on  this  subject, 
contends  that,  for  many  reasons,  the  quantity  of  blood  contained 
in  an  animal  body  may  be  made  matter  of  speculation,  but  can 
not,  for  many  reasons,  be  ascertained  with  any  degree  of  precision  ; 
for,  says  he,  "  if  we  attempt  to  draw  all  the  blood  out  of  the  body, 
the  animal  sinks  and  dies  long  before  its  vessels  are  evacuated; 
and  as  we  possess  no  means  of  measuring  what  remains  behind, 
any  calculation  we  may  make  from  the  quantity  that  has  flowed 
must  necessarily  turn  out  vague,  if  not  altogether  iacorrect."  He 
contends,  however,  that  the  following  experiment  offers  a  datum, 
ir  guide: 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  403 

"The  weight  of  an  animal  being  ascertained  to  be  seventy- 
nine  Dounds,  a  puncture  was  made  with  a  lancet  into  the  jugular, 
from  which  the  blood  flowed  in  a  very  free  stream,  and  was  col- 
lected. The  vein  having  ceased  to  bleed,  the  caroted  artery  of 
the  same  side  was  divided,  but  no  blood  came  from  it.  In  a  few 
oeconds  afterward  the  animal  was  dead.  The  weight  of  the  car- 
cass  was  found  to  be  seventy-three  and  one  half  pounds ;  conse- 
quently, the  animal  had  sustained  a  loss  of  5.12  pounds,  precisely 
the  measure  of  the  blood  drawn. 

It  appears,  therefore,  from  this  experiment,  that  an  animal  will 
lose  one-fifteenth  of  its  weight  of  blood  ere  it  dies,  although  a  less 
quantity  may  so  far  debilitate  the  vital  powers  as  to  be,  though 
less  suddenly,  equally  fatal.  In  the  human  subject,  the  quantity 
of  blood  has  been  computed  at  about  one-eighth  part  of  the  weight 
of  the  body ;  and  as  such  an  opinion  has  been  broached  from  the 
results  of  experiments  on  quadrupeds,  we  may  fairly  take  that  to 
be  about  the  proportion  of  it  in  the  horse ;  so  that  if  we  estimate 
the  weight  of  a  common-sized  horse  at  about  12  cwt.,  the  whole 
quantity  of  blood  will  amount  to  84  quarts,  or  168  pounds,  of 
which  about  45  quarts,  or  90  pounds,  will  flow  from  the  jugulai 
vein  prior  to  death,  though  the  loss  of  a  much  smaller  quantity 
will  sometimes  deprive  the  animal  of  life." 

The  Rapidity  of  the  Circulation. 

In  1827,  Hering,*  a  German  physiologist,  performed  the  ex- 
periment of  injecting  into  the  jugular  vein  of  a  dog  a  harmless 
substance,  which  could  be  easily  recognized  by  its  chemical  reac- 
tions, and  noted  the  time  which  elapsed  before  it  could  be  de- 
lected in  the  vein  of  the  opposite  side.  This  gave  the  first  correct 
idea  of  the  rapidity  of  the  circulation ;  for  though  the  older  phys- 
iologists had  studied  the  subject,  their  estimates  were  founded  on 
calculations  which  had  no  accurate  basis,  and  gave  very  different 
lesults.  The  experiment  of  Hering  is  often  roughly  performed 
as  a  physiological  demonstration,  and  we  have  thus  had  frequent 
occasion,  in  a  general  way,  to  verify  its  accuracy.  If,  for  ex- 
ample, we  expose  both  jugulars  of  a  dog,  inject  into  one  a  solution 
of  ferro-eyanide  of  potassium  in  water,  and  draw  a  specimen  of 


Milne-Edwarda. 


404  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

blood  from  the  other,  with  as  little  loss  of  time  as  possible,  it  will 
be  found  that,  in  twenty  or  thirty  seconds  after  the  injection,  the 
salt  has  had  time  to  pass  from  the  jugular  to  the  right  side  of  the 
heart,  thence  to  the  lungs  and  left  side  of  the  heart,  and  from 
this,  through  the  capillaries  of  the  head  and  face,  back  to  the 
jugular  on  the  opposite  side.  Its  presence  can  be  determined  by 
the  distinct  blue  color  produced  on  the  addition  of  the  perchlo- 
nae  of  iron  to  the  serum,  if  the  specimen  be  allowed  to  stand,  or 
a  clear  extract  of  the  blood  be  made  by  boiling  with  a  little  sul- 
phate of  soda  and  filtering,  treating  the  colorless  liquid  thus  ob- 
tained with  the  salt  of  iron.  The  experiments  of  Hering  were 
evidently  conducted  with  great  care  and  accuracy.  He  drew 
blood  at  intervals  of  five  seconds  after  the  commencement  of  the 
injection,  and  thus,  by  repeated  observations,  ascertained  pretty 
nearly  the  rapidity  of  the  circuit  of  blood  in  the  animals  on  which 
he  experimented.  Others  have  taken  up  these  investigations,  and 
introduced  some  modifications  in  the  manipulations.  Vierordt 
collected  the  blood  as  it  flowed,  in  little  vessels  fixed  on  a  disk 
revolving  at  a  known  rate,  which  gave  a  little  more  exactness  to 
the  observations;  but  the  method  is  essentially  the  same  as  that 
employed  by  Hering,  and  the  result'  obtained  by  these  two 
observers  nearly  correspond. 

Hering  made  observations  on  horses  by  increasing  the  fre- 
quency of  the  pulse,  on  the  one  hand,  physiologically,  by  exercise, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  pathologically,  by  inducing  inflammation. 
He  found,  in  the  first  instance,  that  in  a  horse,  with  the  heart 
beating  at  the  rate  of  thirty-six  per  minute,  with  eight  respira- 
tory acts,  ferro-cyanide  of  potassium  injected  into  the  jugular  ap- 
peared on  the  vessels  on  the  opposite  side,  after  an  interval  of 
from  twenty  to  twenty-five  seconds.  By  exercise,  the  number  of 
pulsations  was  raised  to  one  hundred  per  minute,  and  the  rapidity 
of  the  circulation  was  from  fifteen  to  twenty  seconds.  The  obser- 
vations were  made  with  an  interval  of  twenty-four  hours.  The 
same  results  were  obtained  in  other  experiments. 

The  Transfusion  of  Blood. 

J.  Farrell,  V.  S.,  has  lately  been  experimenting  in  an  intei  - 
esting  department  of  veterinary  science ;  namely,  the  transfusion 
of  equine  blood  in  diseases  attended  with  low,  vital  action.     Tnuis- 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  405 

fusion  signifies  the  transfer  of  blood  from  one  living  animal  tc 
another,  by  means  of  a  hollow  tube  inserted  into  the  jugular  veins 
of  each  horse.     His  method  was  as  follows : 

"  I  commenced  a  series  of  experiments,  so  as  to  discover  the 
simplest,  safest,  and  most  effectual  method  of  conveying  blood 
from  one  animal  to  another.     I  first  tried  the  transfusion  syringe, 
.vhich  has  been  used  by  medical  practitioners  for  this  purpose ; 
but,  whether  from  want  of  skill  in  its  use,  or  from  some  defect  in 
the  instrument,  (which  had  been  recommended  to  me  as  one  of  the 
best,)  or  from  some  other  cause,  I  can  not  tell,  but  certain  it  is  I 
was  in  no  case  so  successful  with  it  as  I  was  with  a  more  simple 
apparatus.     I  fancied  that  the  blood  lost  much  of  its  vitality  by 
being  exposed  to  atmospheric  action,  and  also  by  its  being  forced 
and  compressed  within  the  cylinder  of  the  instrument.     These 
impressions  as  to  the  cause  of  failure  induced  me  to  undertake 
several  experiments,  with  a  view  to  the  construction  of  an  instru- 
ment which  would  fulfill  the  requisite  indications ;  namely,  to  allow 
the  blood  to  pass  freely  from  the  vein  of  the  healthy  into  that  of 
the  diseased  subject,  without  coming  in  contact  with  the  atmos- 
phere, and  without  alteration  of  its  temperature.     I  at  length 
adopted  an  exceedingly  simple  apparatus,  which  may  be  described 
in  a  few  words.     It  consists  of  an  India-rubber  tube,  some  two 
and  a  half  feet  long,  and  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter ; 
that  is,  about  the  caliber  of  the  vein  in  the  adult  horse.     To  either 
end  of  this  is  fitted  a  silver  tube,  curved  somewhat  like  a  syphon, 
so  that  me  end,  which  is  slightly  rounded  at  the  point,  might  be 
easily  passed  into  the  vein,  both  tubes  being  exactly  alike.     A  nar- 
row zinc  or  tin  trough  is  required,  to  contain  hot  water,  in  which 
two-thirds  of  the  tube  should  be  immersed  during  the  time  that 
the  blood  is  flowing.     This  completes  the  apparatus ;  and,  being 
prepared,  and  the  horses  ready,  held  by  assistants,  the  jugular 
rein  of  the  haalthy  horse  from  which  the  supply  of  is  to  be  taken 
may  be  opened,  and  into  it  one  of  the  silver  tubes  carefully  passed, 
poiot  upward,  so  as  to  receive  the  current  of  blood  as  it  flows  back 
from  the  head — the  operator  holding  the  other  end,  and,  having 
previously  opened  the  corresponding  vein  in  the  patient,  he  should 
wait  till  the  current  is  passing  freely  down  the  tube  from   the 
healthy  horse,  and  then  bring  it  in  contact  with  that  which  is  now 
flowing  slowly  from  the  patient.     He  should  pass  the  end  of  the 
tube  carefully  into  the  vein,  point  downward,  by  which  means  tht 


406  DaDD'S  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

possibility  of  any  air  getting  into  the  tube  is  avoided.  The  quan- 
tity to  be  transfused  is  readily  ascertained  by  watching  the  expres- 
sion of  the  eyes  and  noting  the  pulse  carefully.  So  long  as  there 
is  no  dilatation  of  the  pupils,  and  so  long  as  the  heart's  action  is  not 
very  much  affected,  the  blood  may  be  allowed  to  flow  on  uninter- 
ruptedly ;  but  as  soon  as  the  pupils  become  dilated,  it  is  necessary 
to  lessen  the  supply  gradually,  by  compressing  the  tube  with  the 
finger  and  thumb.  If  the  dilatation  disappear  after  a  minute  '  i 
two,  the  blood  may  be  again  allowed  to  flow ;  but  if  it  increases, 
further  transfusion  must  be  stopped,  or,  otherwise,  injurious  con- 
sequences will  result. 

In  the  cases  of  two  animals  which  I  purchased  for  the  purpose 
of  experiment,  I  purposely  allowed  the  blood  to  flow  after  dilata- 
tion of  the  pupil  had  manifested  itself,  in  order  that  I  might  see 
the  result,  and  I  found  it  to  increase ;  and  in  one  of  the  cases, 
after  winking  both  eyes  three  or  four  times,  in  rapid  succession, 
the  horse  reared  up  and  fell  back.  In  the  other  case,  I  forced  the 
blood  in  from  an  India-rubber  enema  bottle.  The  pupils  firut 
became  still  more  dilated ;  the  breathing  very  quick  and  difficult ; 
the  eyes  assumed  a  wild,  agonized  look,  and  the  animal,  with  a 
sudden  bound,  fell  forward  dead.  I  had  my  finger  on  the  artery 
during  the  entire  time,  and  observed  a  great  unsteadiness  and  flut- 
tering of  the  pulse,  which  increased  in  frequency  until  the  instant 
before  he  fell.  In  the  first  of  these  cases,  I  did  not  force  the  blood 
into  the  vein,  but  allowed  it  to  flow  until  I  perceived  the  injurious 
effects  upon  the  horse.  He  tottered  and  fell,  but  in  a  short  time 
recovered,  and  was  walked  back  to  his  stable.  He  died  in  the 
course  of  the  night,  and,  on  examining  his  head  the  next  day,  I 
found  considerable  congestion  of  the  brain.  The  tube  used  for 
the  experiments  transferred  about  three  quarts  of  blood  in  eight 
minutes;  at  least  it  might  be  so  inferred,  from  the  fact  that  when 
used  a*>  a  syphon,  it  passed  three  and  a  half  quarts  of  water  (and 
r.  little  less  of  oil)  from  one  vessel  to  another  in  that  time. 

I  think,  however,  that  I  am  correct  in  saying  that  this  disease 
is  by  no  means  so  likely  to  occur  in  horses  as  in  human  beings,  and 
is  certainly  not  so  formidable ;  but,  nevertheless,  I  am  quite  sure 
that  it  may  happen  as  a  consequence  of  the  operation,  if  the  instru- 
ment be  not  kept  scrupulously  clean,  and  also  if  great  care  bo  not 
taken  in  its  introduction  in  the  vein.  Having,  from  these  and 
other  experiments,  not  necessary  to  detail,  determined  on  the  mode 


[TORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  407 

af  operation  most  likely  to  be  successful,  I  shall  now  proceed  to 
state  the  result  of  four  cases  in  which  I  have  operated,  and  which, 
I  think,  I  may  look  upon  as  having  been  followed  with  entire 
success.     In  three  of  the  cases  the  patients  had  been  bled  a  short 
time  previous  to  my  haviug  seen  them,  and  were  so  much  weak- 
ened that  they  could  scarcely  walk.     In  the  fourth  case,  a  drastic 
purgative  had  been  administered,  causing  superpurgation  and  great 
prostration  of  strength.     In  each  of  the  four  cases,  the  condition 
of  the  patient  was  so  similar  that  the  description  I  have  already 
given  may  answer  for  all.     Having  selected  a  healthy  young  hor»e 
from  which  to  obtain  the  blood  to  be  transferred,  I  opened  the 
jugular  vein  in  the  patient  and  in  the  healthy  subject;  and  hav- 
ing inserted  the  tube,  as  before  described,  into  the  vein  of  the 
healthy  horse.  I  placed  the  India-rubber  tube  in  the  tin  trough 
containing  hot  water,  to  maintain  the  right  temperature,  and  the 
other  curved  tube  into  the  descending  portion  of  the  vein  in  the 
patient.     As  soon  as  the  current  from  the  healthy  horse  had  com- 
pletely expelled  all  atmospheric  air,  the  instrument  being  thus 
arranged,  the  blood  flowed  freely  from  the  vein  of  one  h&rse  into 
that  of  the  other  in  an  unbroken  current.     The  average  quantity 
of  blood  transferred  in  each  of  these  cases  was  about  three  quarts. 
1  observed  no  particular  symptoms  to  follow  from  the  transfusion, 
until  two  quarts  or  more  had  passed  from  the  healthy  to  the  dis- 
eased subject ;  but  as  soon  as  about  that  quantity  had  flowed,  there 
appeared  to  be  produced  an  amount  of  stimulation,  indicated  by  an 
increased  action  of  the  heart ;  at  the  same  time  the  pupils  began  to 
dilate,  and  the  countenance  evinced  an  anxious  expression.     My 
former  experiments  led  me  to  watch  with  great  care  the  progress- 
ive dilatation  of  the  pupil,  and  I  deemed  it  expedient,  in  each  case, 
when  this  symptom  was  well  developed,  to  compress  the  tube  so 
as  to  diminish  the  current,  and  allow  the  transfusion  to  proceed 
more  gradually  and  slowly.     Occasionally  I  almost  completely 
interrupted  the  current  until  the  subsidence  of  this  symptom,  and 
I  found  that  when  about  three  quarts  had  been  transfused,  any 
additional  quantity  was  followed  by  unpleasant  symptoms,  which 
indicated  the  necessity  of  stopping  the  operation.     On  removing 
the  tube  and  closing  the  vein,  all  symptoms  of  irritation  gradually 
subsided,  and  the  pulse,  from  being  rapid  and  irritable,  became 
slower,  stronger,  and  fuller,  gradually  approaching  the  healthy 
tandard. 


408 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY 


In  each  of  these  four  cases  the  reaction  was  steady  and  progrea 
give.  The  natural  warmth  of  the  extremities  was  gradually 
restored,  and,  in  the  course  of  ten  or  twelve  hours,  the  patient 
Resented  other  equally  unmistakable  symptoms  of  amendment, 
such  as  returning  appetite,  more  quiet  and  steady  respiration, 
cheerfulness  of  countenance,  and  a  willingness  to  move  about. 
From  this  point  there  was  a  gradual  improvement,  and.  in  a  short 
time,  they  were  pronounced  cured. 

I  have  been  induced  to  submit  these  few  remarks,  much  lest 
with  a  view  to  record  any  little  success  I  may  have  had  in  per- 
forming the  operation  myself,  than  with  a  hope  that  others,  far 
more  capable,  will  take  up  the  matter,  and  test  it  thoroughly ;  for, 
whatever  obstacles  and  objections  there  may  be  to  its  performance 
in  the  human  subject,  there  are  none  to  prevent  its  becoming  a 
most  valuable  agent  in  veterinary  science." 

Soon  after  the  discovery  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood  by 
Harvey,  transfusion  was  attempted  on  animals,  and  afterward 
on  man.  In  some  cases  the  experiment  was  successful,  while 
others  failed  to  airord  relief;  in  fact,  a  majority  of  the  cases  ter- 
minated unfavorably ;  and  of  late  years«transfusion  has  been  aban- 
doned, and  regarded  as  "  useless  and  even  dangerous."  We  can 
conceive,  however,  of  cases  which  might  occur — when,  for  exam- 
ple, a  horse  has  lost  a  large  quantity  of  blood  accidentally — to 
warrant  us  in  resorting  to  transfusion ;  and  if  any  of  our  veter- 
inary friends  are  disposed  to  make  experiments  of  this  kind,  we 
urge  them  to  do  so,  notwithstanding  the  opinion  of  the  Parlia- 
ment of  France  against  it,  and  that  of  some  scientific  men  who 
have  pronounced  it  "  useless  and  dangerous." 

One  among  the  many  reasons  which  may  be  urged  against 
transfusion  is  the  fact  that  venous  blood  is  a  non-supporter  of 
vitality.  It  is  saturated  with  the  excrementitious  material  ab- 
sorbed from  the  intestinal  canal,  fibrous  membranes,  and  cellular 
tissues,  and  a  vast  amount  of  morbific  matter  is  mixed  with  the 
venous  blood  in  the  course  of  its  circulation,  so  that  it  can  not  be 
yf  any  benefit  to  the  system  oJ  a  sick  or  dying  horse  until  it  shall 
become  oxygenized  or  Vitalized,  or  changed  from  venous  to  arte- 
rial blood,  which  change  can  not  possibly  take  place  until  this 
fluid  has  reached  the  air-cells  of  the  lungs.  It  would  appear, 
therefore,  that  the  transfusion  of  vitalized  arterial  blood,  if  the 
process  can  be  conducted  with  the  relative  amount  of  safety  at- 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,   ETC.  40U 

tending  that  of  the  transfer  of  venous  blood,  would  bo  a  procedure 
more  consistent  with  the  known  laws  of  physiology  than  is  the 
case  when  venous  blood  is  transfused.  It  is  possible  that  some 
animals  might  be  benefited  by  the  transfusion  of  venous  blood, 
provided  the  heart  and  lungs  of  the  patient  are  in  a  healthy  state, 
so  as  to  insure  sufficient  oxygenation;  otherwise,  the  rapid  con- 
sumption of  the  little  oxygen  absorbed  would  be  likely  to  end  in 
asphyxia.  If  the  function  of  the  lungs  be  impaired  by  disease, 
then  the  process  of  aeration  of  the  blood  is  checked,  and  the  blood 
can  not  circulate,  notwithstanding  the  healthy  state  of  the  heart. 
In  verification  of  this  fact,  as  regards  the  very  important  function 
of  respiration  and  aeration,  we  may  mention  that  Dr.  Austin 
Flint,  Jun.,  has  lately  demonstrated  that  the  condition  of  oxy- 
genation of  the  blood  is  necessary  to  the  performance  of  the  vital 
functions,  and  that  a  want  of  capillary  power  (occasioned  by  im- 
perfect oxygenation)  throws  all  onus  on  the  heart,  and  that  the 
heart  is  insufficient  for  the  labor.  In  one  of  his  experiments,  after 
capillary  circulation  had  entirely  ceased,  the  chest  was  opened 
ind  the  heart  found  beating  regularly. 

Management  of  the  Horse's  Foot  in  the  Stable. 

It  is  my  firm  belief,  based  on  a  knowledge  of  the  physiology 
of  the  foot,  that  soft  bedding,  containing  the  usual  amount  of 
filth,  is,  in  many  cases,  the  exciting  cause,  not  only  of  tender- 
ness and  contraction,  but  also  of  many  muscular  affections.  I 
lejoice  to  find  horse-owners  exercising  their  reason  in  this  depart- 
ment of  stable  management,  because  it  is  one  step  in  the  right 
direction,  and  will  put  a  stop  to  those  glaring  absurdities  whic" 
are  constantly  practiced  just  because  they  have  the  sanction  ox 
antiquity,  or  because  Neighbor  So-and-so  recommends  them. 
Reason  teaohes  that  the  health  of  the  whole  animal  fabric  is  best 
promoted  by  cleanliness  and  ventilation  (by  which  a  pure  atmo- 
sphere is  insured),  and  by  food  suitable  in  quantity  and  quality 
to  the  special  wants  of  the  animal.  Hence,  what  reason  teaches, 
man  should  practice. 

It  is  unreasonable,  therefore,  to  suppose  that  a  horse  can  be 
benefited  by  standing  on  a  soft  bed,  composed  in  part  of  the  de- 
filing excrements  of  his  own  body,  which  are  constantly  decom- 
posing and  forming  gaseous  vapors  unfit  for  respiration.     If  dirt 


4IC  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

riii]  filth  are  innoxious,  in  what  does  the  value  of  our  sanitary 
regulations  consist?  Why  do  our  city  authorities  spend  so  much 
money  to  purify  the  pestiferous  cesspool  and  sewer,  and  to  rid  our 
streets  of  accumulating  rubbish  and  filth  ?  Let  human  beings  wal- 
low knee-deep  in  muck,  and  revel  shoulder-deep  in  an  atmosphere 
saturated  with  ammoniacal  and  carbonic  acid  gases  (as  some  horses 
are  compelled  to),  and  death  would  run  riot — our  cities  would  be 
converted  into  immense  charnel-houses,  fit  receptacles  for  a  race 
of  beings  that  would  not  adopt  the  means  which  reason  and  expe- 
rience suggest  for  averting  the  calamity. 

Horses  that  have  no  better  care  than  that  alluded  to,  are  in 
close  proximity  with  disease.  That  they  are  often  found  dead  in 
their  stalls  from  the  effects  of  carbonized  blood  I  can  testify,  and 
many  more  would  die,  only  they  are  permitted  to  take  a  little  of 
the  breath  of  life  during  the  day,  which,  to  some  extent,  dilutes 
the  poisonous  gases  with  which  their  system  has  been  saturated 
during  the  night,  and  thus  their  life,  which,  under  the  best  cir- 
cumstances, is  a  weary  toil,  is  prolonged. 

Without  attempting  to  prove  the  general  effects  ui  impure  air 
and  filth  on  the  system  of  a  horse  located  in  a  stall  from  one  to 
two  and  a  half  feet  deep  of  soft  bedding,  let  us  consider,  in  a  brief 
manner,  the  local  phenomena.  Our  readers  are  all  aware  that  the 
combined  action  of  heat  and  moisture  tends  to  relax — enervates 
the  tissues  of  the  body,  and,  if  carried  beyond  a  certain  point, 
ends  in  decomposition.  Take,  for  example,  a  common  poultice, 
apply  it  to  a  horse's  foot,  and  renew  it  as  soon  as  it  becomes  dry. 
In  the  course  of  two  or  three  days  the  hoof  will  separate  from 
its  matrix,  the  frog  and  heels  soften,  the  tissues  be  in  a  state 
of  relaxation,  and,  if  the  poultice  is  continued,  the  hoof  will 
separate  from  the  sensible  parts ;  if  the  foot  is  already  diseased, 
tne  separation  is  accelerated.  Warm  water  has  the  same  effect. 
.Applied  externally  for  any  length  of  time,  it  relaxes  and  pros- 
trates ;  applied  internally,  it  relaxes  and  vomits.  Hence  the  soft, 
(which  implies  moist,)  hot  bedding,  tends  to  create  morbid  action 
in  the  feet,  and  whatever  disease  the  horse  may  be  predisposed  to 
in  those  parts  will  generally  manifest  itself.  Some  animals,  how- 
ever, escape  the  evils  alluded  to,  owing  to  their  insusceptibility ; 
for  disease  of  the  foot  can  not  occur  without  a  susceptibility  to  it 
and  the  application  of  a  cause.  Soft  bedding,  cow  dung,  and  other 
unmentionable  filth,  are  often  resorted  to  as  remedies  for  con- 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  41 J 

traction,  but  they  are  classed  among  the  irrational  barbarities  of 
tho  past,  with  which  they  ought  to  have  sunk  into  oblivion. 
Veterinary  science  has  discovered  that  if  such  articles  possess 
nnv  virtue,  it  is  owing  to  the  moisture  they  impart  to  the  foot. 
Therefore,  on  the  score  of  decency,  and  in  view  of  relaxing  the 
contracted  foot  according  to  the  principles  of  reason  and  modern 
science,  Ave  should  avoid  every  kind  of  filth,  and  resort  to  pure 
water  or  wholesome  poultice ;  or  take  off  the  shoes,  wash  the  feet 
daily,  and  let  the  horse  run  to  grass,  so  that  he  may  bring  the  sole 
and  frog  in  contact  with  the  ground,  and  thus  promote  expansion 
of  the  heels. 

As  regards  the  manufacture  of  tender  feet,  in  both  the  young 
and  aged,  it  makes  but  little  difference  whether  they  have  the 
range  of  a  filthy  barn-yard  or  are  confined  in  a  bedded  stall ;  the 
effect  is  tenderness  of  foot,  and  subsequent  lameness;  and  the 
same,  or  a  disposition  to  it,  may  be  transmitted  through  the  sexual 
congress  to  future  offspring.  In  view,  therefore,  of  preventing 
diseased  feet,  strict  attention  must  be  paid  to  cleanliness.  The 
.stall  floor  should  be  composed  of  brick  or  plauk,  having  just  suf- 
ficient declivity  to  conduct  fluids  into  a  gutter,  running  along  the 
entrance  to  the  stall,  which  should  terminate  exterior  to  the  stable, 
so  that  the  ammonia,  in  which  the  urine  is  abundant,  is  carried 
beyond  the  stable  atmosphere.  The  bedding,  which,  according 
to  long  custom,  is  stowed  under  the  crib,  there  acting  as  a  sort  of 
noxious  smelling-bottle  to  the  horse's  nostrils,  should  be  spread 
out  in  the  open  air,  sorted,  the  refuse  and  excrement  removed  to 
a  dung-heap,  located  as  far  from  the  stable  as  possible;  for  the 
common  manure  receptacle,  under  the  stable  floor,  is  one  of  the 
worst  features  of  stable  economy.  The  stable  floor  should  be 
washed  clean  as  often  as  circumstances  permit. 

Strangles  ("Distemper,"  or  "Horse  Ail"). 

This  disease  is  most  prevalent  in  young  horses.  After  the  age 
of  eight  the  disease  is  more  rare  I  have,  however,  seen  some 
well-marked  cases  occurring  in  hoi*es  whose  ages  varied  from  five 
to  eight  years.  Strangles  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the  evils  of 
domestication,  and  often  results  from  errors  in  diet  and  man- 
agement, which,  if  vre  make  some  exceptions,  will  generally  bear 
improvement. 


412  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  oURGER  - 

Strangles  is  supposed  to  be  a  disease  to  which  all  horses  art 
subject  once  in  their  lives,  yet  Mr.  Percivall  contends  that 
many  horses  escape  the  disease.  Hence,  if  many  escape,  it  is  very 
natural  for  those  who  know  the  value  of  pure  air,  natural  food, 
and  exercise  to  conclude  that  the  colt,  while  enjoying  these  great 
luxuries  in  the  open  air,  by  the  side  of  its  mother,  guided  by  hei 
superior  instinct,  is  not  liable  to  be  attacked  with  a  disease  which, 
as  already  stated,  we  believe  to  result  from  depriving  animals  of 
those  blessings  which  Nature  has  in  store  for  them  in  their  unre- 
strained state.  But  it  often  happens  that  young  colts,  after  run- 
ning a  season  with  their  mother,  partaking  of  the  invigorating 
country  air,  grow  up  to  be  strong  and  robust,  and  then  the  period 
arrives  for  weaning  them.  How  changed  the  scene !  Instead  of 
being  permitted  to  gambol  in  their  native  element,  they  are  con- 
fined to  a  small  space,  not  large  enough  to  swing  a  cat  round,  and 
perhaps  as  dark  as  the  grave ;  and  the  animal,  after  fretting  for  a 
season,  and  making  unsuccessful  efforts  to  escape  from  its  prison- 
house,  tamely  submits  to  the  discipline,  not,  however,  until  he  has 
cut  and  bruised  and  otherwise  injured  himself.  I  was  called,  a 
bhort  time  ago,  to  visit  a  young  colt  that  had  lacerated  his  head, 
breast,  and  fore-legs  in  a  most  shocking  manner,  in  making  aE 
attempt  to  escape  through  a  window  from  the  horrors  of  confine- 
ment. His  companions  were  about  a  dozen  cows,  more  calculated 
to  alarm  and  render  his  position  a  perilous  one  than  otherwise; 
and  the  impure  atmosphere,  rendered  so  by  the  emanations  from 
the  excrements  and  from  the  lungs  of  his  companions,  was  a  source 
of  great  mischief.  Then,  who  can  blame  such  an  one  for  attempt- 
ing to  escape  and  regain  liberty  ?  If  strangles  should  appear  in 
such  a  subject,  it  would  not  be  surprising. 

Then,  again,  take  a  colt  from  its  mother,  whose  milk  coutains 
all  the  elements  for  sustaining  life  and  developing  the  organization 
of  the  young  subject,  and  place  it  upon  a  diet  of  hay  or  like  innu- 
tritious  trash,  a  whole  truss  of  which  would  not  afford  one-half 
the  quantity  of  nutriment  contained  in  a  quart  of  its  mother's 
milk.  However  profitable  and  well-adapted  hay  may  be  for  stock 
of  mature  growth  and  powerful  digestive  organs,  it  is  a  sad  mis- 
take to  suppose  that  it  will  do  for  the  young.  A  case  of  this  kind 
came  under  my  observation  last  year.  The  subject,  aged  two  and 
a  half  years,  died  in  a  state  of  marasmus  (a  gradual  wasting  of  the 
eysten  without  any  apparent  disease) ,     A  post  mortem  examine- 


HORSE  MANAGEMENT,  ETC.  413 

tiou  failed  to  detect  any  disease  other  than  general  emaciation. 
On  making  inquiries  concerning  the  food,  the  owner  replied,  "  The 
edit  has  been  fed  on  good  sweet  hay  and  corn-stalks  ever  since  it 
was  weaned."  This  was  capital  food  for  the  poor  thing,  provided, 
however,  its  stomach  had  a  grist-mill  within  it ;  otherwise,  it  was 
hard  fare,  and  must  derange  the  digestive  function,  and,  ere  tb.8 
colt  has  attained  maturity,  dyspepsia,  in  either  a  mild  or  aggra- 
vated form,  has  secured  a  victim. 

Mr.  Percivall  has  defined  strangles  to  be  "a  diffusible  swell- 
ing under  the  iaw.  The  tumor  consists  in  a  circumscribed  inflam- 
mation,  having  all  the  characteristics  of  simple  phlegmon,  attack- 
ing the  subcutaneous  cellular  substance  included  between  the 
branches  of  the  jaw,  which,  in  consequence,  become  gradually 
filled  and  distended  with  effusions  of  lymphy  and  serous  matters, 
acquires  a  firm  and  solid  feel,  tenderness  on  pressure,  and  a  sense 
of  unnatural  heat.  This  commonly  proceeds  to  suppuration,  end- 
ing, to  all  appearances,  in  a  common  submaxillary  abscess.  Now, 
this,  and  this  alone,  constitutes  strangles.  There  are  in  the  oooks 
a  variety  of  other  symptoms  described,  but  they  are  all  concomi- 
tant or  accidental,  none  but  these  being,  properly  speaking,  essen- 
tial to  its  existence.  The  usual  concomitants  are,  membranous 
inflammation,  giving  rise  to  soreness  about  the  throat ;  reddening 
and  discharge  at  the  nose,  and  perhaps  cough ;  tumefaction  of  the 
salivary  glands,  producing  pain  and  difficulty  of  deglutition;  and, 
lastly,  some  slight  febrile  commotion  of  the  system." 

Contagiousness  of  Strangles. — We  learn  from  the  "Veterina- 
rian" that  M.  Reynal,  clinical  professor  at  the  Alfort  School, 
submits  a  number  of  observations  corroborative  of  the  contagious 
character  of  strangles.  He  states  that  "young  horses  having 
strangles,  and  put  into  stables  with  horses  of  adult  age,  doing 
their  duty,  have  communicated  the  disease  to  those  of  the  latter, 
who  have  ^tood  in  adjoining  stalls,  though  some  few  have  onlj 
exhibited  the  disease  in  a  catarrhal  form.  Even  the  foal  has  been 
known  to  suck  the  disease  from  its  dam.  Moreover,  experiment 
has  been  had  recourse  to -to  inoculate  for  strangles.  M,  Damalix 
smeared  with  a  sponge,  impregnated  with  matter  taken  from  the 
abscess  of  strangles,  twice  daily,  both  sides  of  the  pituitary  mem- 
brane and  the  internal  surfaces  of  the  linings  of  the  eyelids,  in  a 
Bound  horse,  about  to  be  cast  for  spavin.  This  was  continued  for 
:-*even  days.     On  the  eighth,  he  remarked  that  the  horsp  had  lost 


414  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

his  appetite,  had  commenced  running  from  both  nostrils,  loughed 
softly  and  loosely,  and  had  swelling  under  the  jaw,  which  ended 
in  resolution,  all  the  symptoms  terminating  eight  days  from  their 
commencement. 

It  has  been  remarked  that  strangles  is  more  surely  communi- 
cated at  an  early  than  a  late  stage,  and  in  a  certain  form  more 
readily  than  in  others.  Strangles  will  assume  the  herpetic  char- 
acter, simulate  farcy  and  glanders,  settle  in  the  mesenteric  glands, 
or  may  follow  castration.  In  regard  to  contagion,  may  be  men- 
tioned, as  most  readily  communicable,  that  form  of  strangles  which 
assumes  the  character  of  eruptions  on  the  lips,  nose,  and  pituitary 
membrane." 

The  Tumor  of  Strangles  is  not  always  confined  to  the  submax- 
illary space,  as  Avill  be  observed  from  the  following  case,  which 
occurred  in  the  author's  practice,  a  short  time  ago,  in  a  gray  marc, 
and  which  speedily  ran  to  a  fatal  termination.  The  subject  had 
previously  suffered  from  some  internal  disorder,  and,  on  recovery 
from  which,  did  not  appear  to  regain  its  usual  health,  but  re- 
mained in  an  unthrifty  condition.  A  few  days  before  our  atten- 
tion was  called  to  the  case,  a  turn  r  made  its  appearance  on  the 
near  hip,  which  suppurated  and  discharged.  On  the  morning  of 
our  visit,  the  animal  had  been  attacked  with  abdominal  pain,  for 
which  remedies  had  been  prescribed.  They  not  appearing  to 
afford  relief,  the  owner  called  in  the  aid  of  some  person,  who  in- 
serted a  knife  into  the  mouth,  and  wounded  the  palatine  artery, 
from  which  the  blood  had  flowed  for  several  hours,  but  was  now 
arrested.  We  found  the  extremities  icy  cold,  and  the  pulse  very 
feeble.  The  eye  appeared  glassy,  mucous  surfaces  pale,  and  the 
lips  hanging  pendulous.  There  was  a  painful  tumor  on  the  near 
hind  leg;,  close  to  the  stifle,  and  another  on  the  flank  of  the  same 
side.  The  animal  was  exceedingly  stiff  and  lame  in  the  hind  ex- 
tremities, and  appeared  to  be  failing  very  fast.  Considering  the 
case  a  hopeless  one,  we  merely  recommended  some  restorative  cor- 
dial and  a  few  quarts  of  gruel.  The  animal  died  in  the  course 
of  a  few  hours,  and  its  death,  no  doubt,  was  hastened  by  the  loss 
of  blood;  for,  as  the  owner  expressed  himself,  "the  horse  had 
some  life  in  him  before  being  bled,"  thereby  intimating  that  the 
abstraction  of  blood  deprived  him  of  that  life. 

Treatment. — So  soon  as  matter  can  be  detected  in  the  tumor  or 
abscess  beneath  the  jaw  it  should  be  laid  open.     This  will  libo.r- 


horse  management,  mr,  415 

ate  a  quantity  of  pus.  The  orifice  thus  made  must  not  be  allowed 
to  close,  but  must  be  kept  open  for  a  few  days,  or  until  matter 
ceases  to  run.  During  this  period,  a  liniment,  composed  of  cod- 
liver  oil,  half  a  pint,  and  powdered  camphor,  two  ounces,  must 
occasionally  be  rubbed  about  the  region  of  the  jaws.  Half  aa 
ounce  of  powdered  chlorate  of  potass  should  be  mixed  in  the 
irink,  or  with  some  flaxseed  tea,  if  the  patient  will  drink  it.  A 
couple  of  drachms  of  fluid  extract  of  pleurisy -root  may  be  given, 
night  and  morning,  for  a  short  time.  Active  medicine  is  not 
indicated ;  good  nursing,  aided  by  pure  air  and  voluntary  exercise 
in  an  in  closure,  will  soon  restore  the  patient  to  health. 

We  close  our  labors  in  {lie  Equine  Department  by  entering 
our  solemn  protest  against  the  unwarrantable  use  of  the  lancet  or 
knife  in  Veterinary  Practice.  It  is  a  disgrace  to  humanity,  an 
outrage  on  the  rights  and  privileges  of  that  noble  animal,  the 
horse,  over  whom  God  has  given  us  dominion  and  power — not  to 
abuse  and  render  their  life  a  weary  toil,  and  extort  from  them  all 
the  labor  we  can,  but  to  protect  them,  to  administer  to  their  wants 
and  necessities,  and  render  their  condition  as  happy  as  possible. 
A  moral  responsibility  rests  on  every  man  to  see  that  the  claims 
which  these  poor  creatures  have  upon  our  race  are  respected ;  that 
their  rights  are  not  violated ;  that,  when  sick  and  in  a  dying  con- 
dition, they  shall  be  treated  with  mercy,  and  be  protected  from 
their  tormentors,  the  unmerciful  phlebotomists.  Any  misguided 
man  who  can  draw  from  the  veins  of  an  emaciated  or  dying  horse 
the  little  blood  they  contain  should  be  sent  to  the  insane  asylum, 
and  never  again  be  permitted  to  disgrace  the  noble  nature  of  man. 
We  can  respect  the  man  who  conscientiously  practices  blood-let- 
ting; b  it  where  is  the  medical  man  who  can  conscientiously  bleed 
i  dying  brute  with  a  view  of  saving  life? 


KBTD  OF   EQUINE   DEPAETMEHT. 


TABLES  OF  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 


APOTHECARIES'  WEIGHTS. 

20  grains  make  one  scruple,  marked $j. 

3  scruples      do.      drachm,      do 3j. 

8  drachms      do.      ounce,        do gj. 

12  ounces         do.      pound,        do Ibj* 


LIQUID  MEASURES. 

ftU  drops  make  one  drachm,  marked ....  33. 

8  drachms      do.      ounce,        do •  3J« 

20  ounces         do.      pint,  do. Oj. 

8  pints  do.      gallon,       do Cong, 


ORDINARY  MODES  OP  MEASURING  LIQUIDS. 

A  tea-spoonful  of  liquid  equals  60  drops,  or  one  drachm. 
A  table-spoonful  of        do  £  ounce,  ox  four  drachma. 

A  dessert-spoonful  of      do.         1 80  drops,  or  three  drachms. 
A  wine-glassful  of  do.  1£  ounces. 


The  doses  vary  in  quantity  in  different  animals.     The  amount  to 
be  given  in  any  case  will  do  found  clearly  stated  in  the  treatment  ot 
each  disease,  whether  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  or  hogs. 
416 


A  LIST   OF   FLUID    EXTRACTS, 


8EOENTLY  INTRODUCED  INTO  VETERINARY  PRACTIO* 


By  G.  H.  DADD,  V.  S., 


WITH  INSTRUCTION  REGARDING  THEIR  ACTION,  AND 
THE  QUANTITY  TO  BE  ADMINISTERED. 


THE  introduction  of  medicines,  in  the  form  of  Fijjid  Ex- 
tracts, for  the  treatment  of  diseases  incidental  to  domestio 
animals  is  considered  a  very  great  improvement  over  the  old 
method  of  drenching  by  the  pint  or  quart,  to  the  great  disgust  of 
the  patient  as  well  as  the  practitioner,  and  the  great  danger  attend- 
ing the  administration  of  a  large  quanty  of  fluid  which  was  neces- 
sary when  crude  materials  were  used.  In  the  use  of  fluid  extracts 
all  danger  is  obviated  and  much  labor  saved,  for  the  doses  are 
quite  small,  rarely  exceeding  one  fluid  ounce.  This  can  be  merely 
placed  on  the  tongue,  the  animal's  head  being  slightly  elevated, 
and  he  swallows  it  without  any  difficulty  or  resistance. 

The  fluid  extracts  bear  an  exact  relation  to  the  crude  materials— 
that  is,  ounce  for  ounce — yet,  from  a  variety  of  circumstances,  they 
may  vaiy  slightly  from  this  standard.  It  is,  however,  the  inten- 
tion of  the  manufacturer  to  completely  exhaust  the  active  principle 
of  the  crude  material  and  render  the  medicine  uniform  in  strength. 
The  fluid  extracts  used  by  the  author  are  manufactured  by  Messrs. 
Garrison  &  Co.,  manufacturing  chemists,  of  Chicago.  They  con- 
duct their  evaporations  at  a  very  low  temperature,  by  means  of  an 
improved  steam  bath,  and  use  only  select  drugs,  thereby  prevent- 
ing the  possibility  of  adulteration.  I  have  used  large  quantities 
of  medicine  manufactured  by  the  above-named  firm,  and  find  them 
27  417 


41c  L^DD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

equal  if  not  superior  to  any  in  the  market;  therefore  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  recommend  them  as  efficient  and  reliable  medicines. 
The  doses  here  recommended  apply  to  both  horses  and  cattle. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Chamomile. 

(Anthemis  Nobilis.) 

This  is  a  valuable  tonic,  and  is  used  in  cases  of  derangement  of 
the  digestive  organs.     Dose,  from  two  to  four  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Arnica. 

( Leopard1 s-bane. ) 

Arnica  is  chiefly  used  in  veterinary  practice  as  an  external  ap- 
plication in  the  treatment  of  wounds,  sprains,  and  bruises.  It  is 
prepared  as  follows : 

Fluid  extract  of  arnica 4  oz. 

Proof  spirits  (equal  parts  of  water  and  alcohol) ...   1  pint. 
Mix. 

Apply  a  portion  to  the  affected  part  two  or  three  times  daily. 
Fluid  Extract  of  Wormwood. 

(Artemisia  Absinthium.) 

This  is  used  as  an  anthelmintic  for  the  expulsion  of  worms. 
The  dose  is  one  ounce  (fluid),  to  be  given  every  morning  for  a 
week,  just  before  feeding-time.     It  not  only  has  a  tendency  to  e:  - 
pel  worms,  but  gives  tone  to  the  digestive  organs,  and  corrects 
morbid  appetite 

Fluid  Extract  of  Pleurisy  Root. 

(Asclepias  Tuberosa.) 

This  is  used  in  pleurisy  and  irritable  sore  throat.  Dose,  four 
drachms,  night  and  morning.  The  powdered  root  enters  ink  the 
compositf  in  of  some  of  the  most  celebrated  cough  powders. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Male  Fern. 

(Aspidium  Filix  Mas.) 

This  is  the  celebrated  remedy  for  the  treatment  of  tape- wet m, 
which  is  sometimes  to  be  found  iD  the  intestines  of  young    sits. 


LIST  OF  FLUID  EXTRACTS.  419 

Dose,  four  drachms,  to  be  given  every  morning,  on  an  empty 
stomach,  for  six  or  eight  successive  days,  and  longer  if  necessary. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Buchu. 

(Barosma  Orenata.) 

This  is  used  exclusively  for  the  treatment  of  diseases  of  the 
urinary  organs,  retention  of  the  urine,  and  for  the  treatment  of 
the  various  forms  of  dropsy.  Its  direct  action  is  diuretic,  yet  it 
also  gives  tone  to  the  parts  on  which  it  acts.  Dose,  from  four  to 
eight  drachms.  Should  an  animal  be  suffering  from  retention  of 
the  urine,  the  diuretic  action  of  the  buchu  may  be  augmented  by 
adding  to  it  a  small  quantity  (equal  parts)  of  sweet  spirits  of  niter. 
For  the  treatment  of  spasm  at  the  neck  of  the  bladder,  add  to  the 
dose  of  buchu  an  equal  quantity  of  tincture  of  assafetida. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Indian  Hemp  (Foreign). 

( Cannabis  Indicus  Sativiu.) 

This  medicine  acts  as  a  narcotic  and  antispasmodic.  Its  use  is 
indicated  in  all  diseases  attended  with  pain  and  restlessness,  but  is 
chiefly  used  for  the  treatment  of  tetanus  or  locked-jaw.  Dose, 
two  drachms,  to  be  repeated  as  occasion  may  require. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Prince's  Pine. 

(Pipsissewa.) 

Prince's  pine  is  a  very  excellent  tonic  and  diuretic  in  chronic 
diseases  of  the  urinary  organs,  and  has  been  used  with  much  suc- 
cess in  cases  of  local  dropsy  of  the  limbs,  known  as  swelled  legs. 
Dose,  from  four  to  six  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Black  Snakeroot. 

(  Cimicifuga  Racemosa.) 

This  extract  is  considered  a  valuable  agent  for  the  treatment  of 
spasmodic  affections,  which  arise  in  consequence  of  derangement 
of  some  portion  of  the  nervous  system.  It  is  an  efficient  remedy 
in  hysteria. 


420  dadd's  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Colchicum. 

(Colchicum  Autumnale.) 

This  extract  is  prepared  from  the  roots  and  seeds  of  the  plant, 
It  is  celebrated  for  the  treatment  of  rheumatism,  inflammatory 
diseases  of  the  joints,  and  inter-articular  lameness.  Dose,  one 
drachm,  two  or  three  times  per  day. 

Fluid  Extkact  of  Yellow  Jessamine. 

( Gelseminum  Sempervirent.) 

This  agent  is  used  as  a  sedative  in  the  treatment  of  pleurisy  and 
pneumonia  in  the  early  or  acute  stage.  It  is  also  a  powerful  febri- 
fuge, hence  it  is  indicated  in  all  acute  fevers.  It  entirely  dis- 
penses with  use  of  the  fleam.     Dose,  from  one,  to  three  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Witch  hazel. 

(Hamamelis  Virginica.) 

Witch-hazel  is  used  as  a  local  astringent  in  the  treatment  of 
u  bog  and  blood  spavin."     It  is  prepared  for  use  as  follows : 

Fluid  extract  of  witch-hazel 6  oz. 

Proof  spirits 1  pint. 

Mix. 

Apply  a  portly  twice  daily. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Hops. 

(Humulus  Lupulus.) 

This  preparation  of  hops  is  used  as  a  tonic  in  general  debility, 
and  as  a  narcotic  in  diseases  of  the  nervous  system.  It  is  a  relia- 
ble remedy  to  induce  sleep  and  relieve  pain.  Dose,  from  two  to 
four  drachms,  to  be  repeated  as  occasion  seems  to  require. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Golden  Seal. 

(Hydrastis  Canadensis.) 

The  golden  seal  is  a  pure  tonic,  and  its  use  is  indicated  in  all 
cases  of  debility,  loss  of  appetite,  derangement  of  the  digestive 
organs,  and  torpidity  of  the  liver.  Dose,  from  two  to  four 
drachms. 


list  of  fluid  extracts.  421 

Fluid  Extract  of  Sassafras. 

All  the  preparations  of  sassafras  are  more  or  less  alterative. 
The  fluid  extract  is  used  in  view  of  purifying  the  blood  in  diseases 
of  the  skin,  and  in  cases  of  chronic  rheumatism.  Dose,  from  four 
to  six  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Culver's  Root. 

(Leptandra  Virginica.) 

This  is  employed,  in  the  author's  practice,  as  a  substitute  foi 
calomel,  in  the  treatment  of  acute  and  chronic  diseases  of  the  liver. 
Dose,  from  two  to  four  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Lobelia. 

Lobelia  is  a  very  valuable  antispasmodic,  and  is  useful  in  dis- 
eases of  a  spasmodic  character.  The  author  has  used  it,  with  great 
success,  in  obstinate  cases  of  spasmodic  colic.    Dose,  two  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Bayberry. 

(Myrica  Cerifera.) 

Bayberry  is  successfully  used  as  a  stimulant  and  astringent  in 
scours,  diarrhea,  and  super-purgation.  Dose,  two  drachms,  to  be 
administered  in  a  small  quantity  of  milk  porridge. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Poppy-heads. 

(Papaver  Somni/erium.) 

This  is  used  as  a  narcotic,  in  all  cases  that  seem  to  require  the 
exhibition  of  opium.  It  mitigates  pain,  induces  sleep  and  rest, 
and  is  much  safer  than  crude  opium.  Dose,  from  two  to  six 
drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Poke-root. 

(Phytolacca  Decandra.) 

This  is  used  as  an  alterative  in  a  disease  occurring  among  cows, 
known  as  "  garget,"  or  "  caked  udder."  Dose,  from  two  to  four 
drachms. 


122 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


Fluid  Extract  of  Matico. 

(Piper  Angusti/olium.) 

This  is  used  as  a  styptic  to  bleeding  wounds,  internal  hemor- 
rhages, and  chronic  diarrhea.     Dose,  from  four  to  eight  drachma. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Cubebs. 

This  is  a  very  valuable  agent  for  the  treatment  of  leucorrheaj 
gleet,  nasal  gleet,  or  discharges  from  mucous  surfaces.  Dose,  from 
three  to  six  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Black  Pepper. 

(Piper  Nigrum.) 

This  is  a  carminative  and  stimulant  to  the  digestive  organs, 
and  is  often  used  successfully  in  the  treatment  of  stomach  stag- 
gers.    Dose,  from  two  to  four  drachms 

Fluid  Extraci  of  Mandrake. 

(Podophyllum  Peltatum.) 

Mandrake  is  now  used  as  a  laxative  and  cathartic,  in  lieu  ol 
aloes.  About  one  ounce  will  usually  purge  a  horse,  if  followed 
tip  by  sloppy  bran-mashes. 


Fluid  Extract  of  Bloodroot. 

(Sanguinaria   Canadensis.) 

This  is  used  as  an  escharotic  in  the  treatment  of  foul  ulcers, 
and  fungus  growths.  It  is  used,  also,  as  a  gargle  in  suppurative 
laryngitis,  croup,  putrid  sore  throat,  etc.  The  gargle  is  prepared 
as  follows: 

Fluid  extract  of  bloodroot 4  oz. 

"Vinegar 1  pt- 

Mix. 

It  is  applied  to  the  mouth  and  throat  by  means  of  a  sponge, 
affixed  to  a  piece  of  rattan  or  whalebone. 


list  of  fluid  extracts.  423 

Fluid  Extract  of  Valerian. 

(  Valerian  Officinalis.) 

This  is  a  very  useful  antispasmodic,  and  its  use  is  indicated  in 
all  cases  marked  by  irregular  nervous  action  and  hysterical  affec- 
tions.    Dose,  four  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Ginger. 

(Zinziberis  Officinalit.) 

Fluid  extract  of  ginger  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  diflusible 
stimulants  to  be  found  in  the  whole  materia  medica.  The  Ja- 
maica ginger  is  preferable  to  any  other;  it  is  used  in  cases  of  indi- 
gestion, flatulency,  etc.     Dose,  from  three  to  six  drachms. 

Fluid  Extract  of  Ginger  enters  into  the  composition  of  the  cele- 
brated colic  drench,  used  by  the  author  of  this  work  and  his 
students,  during  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  with  marked  suc- 
cess.    The  following  is  the  formula  : 

Fluid  extract  of  ginger )        ,  ,   ,,    -   .. 

Fluid  extract  of  golden  seal..  }  each l  lb"  flmd' 

Hyposulphite  of  soda 6  oz. 

Dose,  four  ounces  (fluid)  every  four  hours,  until  relief  is  ob- 
tained. 

Remedy  for  Wounds. 

Apply  a  compress  of  several  folds  of  cotton  cloth,  soaked  in  a 
portion  of  the  following : 

Balsam  fir 1  lb. 

Hyposulphite  of  soda 2  o». 

Proof  spirit 1   pt. 

Mix. 

Remedy  for  Tedious  Labor. 

The  natural  labor-pains  may  be  excited  by  administering: 
fluid  extract  of  ergot  (ergota),  two  drachms,  every  half  hour, 
until  delivery  is  accomplished.  The  ergot  operates  with  great 
energy  upon  the  contractile  function  of  the  uterus,  of  both  mares 
and  cows,  and  to  a  certain  extent  prevents  inordinate  hemorrhage 
after  parturition. 


424 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


Remedy  for  Hemorrhage  in  Performing  Operations. 

Apply,  by  means  of  a  compress  of  linen  or  sponge,  a  small 
quantity  of  persulphite  of  iron.  This  is  the  most  valuable  styptic 
known  to  veterinary  science. 


Fluid  Extract  of  Aconite. 


-Monk's-hood.) 


(Aconilum  Napellus- 

This  medicine  is  used  as  a  very  powerful  sedative  and  narcotiCj 
in  all  cases  of  active  or  inflammatory  disease  of  the  lungs  or  brain 
It  is  highly  recommended  by  the  professors  of  our  art  as  a  reliable 
antiphlogistic  in  the  treatment  of  acute  affections.  The  dose  is 
from  ten  to  twenty  drops.  This  medicine  is  said  to  be  very  effi- 
cacious in  inflammatory  rheumatism,  and  as  a  fine  topical  remedy 
in  localized  painful  affections,  such  as  laminitis,  myalgia,  etc. 


Hyposulphite  of  Soda. 

The  hyposulphite  of  soda  is  useful  in  all  kinds  of  diseases  known 
as  rinderpest,  pleuro-pneu»monia,  typhoid  affections,  and  in  en- 
zootic affections,  and  in  all  diseases  caused  by  fermentation  in  the 
blood,  such  as  Texas  fever,  malignant  scarlet  fever,  typhus,  etc. 
The  hyposulphite  of  soda  can  be  used  with  great  success  in  the 
treatment  of  the  above  and  other  affections  of  an  enzootic  origin, 
yet  I  have  found  it  more  efficacious  and  reliable  when  prepared 
as  follows: 

Hyposulphite  of  soda ") 

Hypophosphate  of  lime. . .  >  each 1  oi. 

Hypophosphate  of  potass. .  ) 

Fluid  extract  of  ginger 2  ob. 

Sugar  of  milk 1  oi. 

Proof  spirit , 1  pt. 

Dose,  two  ounces,  two  or  three  times  daily. 


A  GUIDE  TO  DIAGNOSIS; 


OB 


COMPLETE   INDEX  OF    SYMPTOMS 


The  following  Index  of  Symptoms  is  arranged  under  four  heads, 
viz. :  Diseases  of  Horses  ;  Diseases  of  Cattle  ;  Diseases 
of  Sheep;  Diseases  of  Swine.  Each  part  is  arranged  alpha- 
betically, so  that  ready  reference  can  be  made  to  any  symptom. 


HOW  TO  USE  THIS  INDEX. 

Animals  when  taken  sick,  not  having  the  power  of  speech,  can 
not  make  known  the  seat  of  their  disease,  except  by  certain  signs 
r>r  invariable  symptoms.  It  therefore  becomes  of  the  highest  im- 
portance to  be  able  to  understand  the  mute  language  of  the  poor 
dumb  brute,  and  thus  to  find  out  what  ails  him,  in  order  that  the 
proper  means  of  cure  may  be  speedily  made  use  of. 

An  instance  of  the  use  to  be  made  of  this  Index  may  be  found 
in  the  following  case :  "A  horse  is  noticed  to  breathe  faster  thaa 
usual,  with  evident  pain;  back,  arched;  legs,  straddling;  head 
often  turned  toward  the  loins ;  urine,  reddened  and  scanty."  Now, 
a  reference  to  these  symptoms,  as  arranged  alphabetically,  enables 
us  to  turn  directly  to  page  223,  where  "Inflammation  of  the  Kid- 
neys" is  seen  to  be  the  disease  we  are  looking  for. 

The  same  thing  can  be  done  in  case  a  cow,  sheep,  or  hog  be  the 
victims  of  disease. 

In  observing  symptoms,  attention  should   be  directed   to   the 

425 


426  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

various  parts  of  the  body  of  the  animal  which  give  the  earliest 
warnings  of  disease.     These  are,  usually, 

The  Eyes,  Tongue,  Muzzle,  Throat,  Pulse,  Chest,  Heart, 
Breath,  Breathing;  Discharges  from  the  Mouth;  Dis- 
charges from  the  Nostrils;  The  Skin,  The  Coat,  The 
Back,  The  Attitude,  and  General  Appearance  of  the 
whole  Body. 


EQUINE  DEPARTMENT. 

PAGBB 

Abdomen,  distended  with  gas 188 

do.         pressure  on,  produces  pain 198,  201 

Acute  rheumatism 333 

"  All  in  a  heap  " 350 

Anus,  scurfy,  yellow  accumulation  around  margin  of 220 

Anxiety , 124 

Appetite,  little 289 

do.       loss  of 116,  124,  201,  206,  223 

Back,  arched 223,  332 

Back,  muscles  of,  rigid .73 

Back,  roached 350 

Belching,  continually 183,  188 

Belly,  ccld  sweat  on 112 

do.      dropsical  swellings  under 120,  397 

do.      striking  of. 193 

do.      suddenly  very  much  bloated 187 

do.      pressure  on  causes  pain 201,  198 

do.      "tucked"  up 74,193 

Blood  from  bowek         297 

Body,  becomes  thin 299 

do.    cold 94,112 

do.    covered  with  cold  sweat 187,188 

Sowels,  bloody,  fetid  discharge  from 112 

do.      blood  from,  caused  by  straining 205 

do.      inactive .....   198 

do.      constipated 332 

do.      irregular • 220 

Breath,  hot  and  offensive 289 

do.      smells  badly • 208 

Breathing,  grunting 61 ,  62,  64 

do.         labored  and  quick 187 


A  GUIDE  TO  DIAGNOSIS.  427 

PAGES 

iireathing,  quick  and  grunting 120 

do.         quick  and  painful 223 

do.         oppressed  and  slow 63,  206 

do.         excited 78 

do.         oppressed  and  noisy 94,  179 

dc  croupy , . . .      97 

do.         difficult 101,  183 

do.         labored 116 

Chest,  pressure  on  side  of,  gives  pain 120,  332 

do.      dropsical  swellings  under , , 120 

do.      tinkling  sound  in,  when  ear  is  held  close  tc 124 

Chewing  performed  slowly 75 

Coat,  staring 206 

do.     rough  and  unthrifty 220,  275 

Convulsions 62 

Coughing,  spasmodic 94 

do.         and  laborious  breathing 108 

do.         deep-seated  and  half  suppressed 116 

Cough,  dry  and  hacking 220 

Cramp  of  the  muscles 70 

Darkness,  preferred 75 

Delirium 78 

Drowsiness 62 

Dung,  unusually  dark-colored  and  hard 99 

do.      scanty 120 

do.      covered  with  yellow  slime 220 

do.     bloody 297 

Ears  kept  in  constant  motion,  one  forward  the  other  backward.. .     43 

do.  tips  of,  cold 97,  208 

do.  cold 183 

Excretions,  diminished , 63 

Extremities,  cold 94,  116,  208 

do.  dropsy  of. 112 

Eye,  tenderness  in  one,  with  eyelids  closed 56 

do.   copious  flow  of  tears  from 56 

do.    white  of,  slightly  red 56 

do.    anterior  chamber  of,  full  of  yellow  matter 56 

do.   pupil  of,  dilated 59,  61,  64,  179 

do.   staring  wildly 63,  1 96 

do.       do.     as  if  they  would  burst  from  sockets 67 

do.    bloodshot 179 

Eyss,  squinting  appearance  of. -. 73 


428  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

PAGES 

&yes,  dull 75 

do.     prominent , 97 

do.     glassy  and  prominent 187 

do.     dropsical 397 

Eyelids  kept  closed 46 

do.      swollen 46 

do.      internal  surface  of,  red 46,  59,  201 

do.      profuse  discharge  of  matter  from 55 

do.      closed,  with  tenderness  in  one  eye 56 

do.      half  shut , 75 

do.      lining  of,  white « 206 

do.  do.    bright  yellow 212 

Face,  swelling  of. 297,  397 

Falling  down  suddenly  on  the  road 64 

do.  do.  with  a  loud  snorting  sound 67 

Fear  and  restlessness  on  approach  of  heavy  vehicle 43 

Feeling,  loss  of 64 

Feed  refused 178,  223 

Feet,  fore  ones  raised  to  an  unnecessary  height  in  walking 43 

do.    raised  very  high , 75 

do.     pawing  with  fore 190 

do.     fore  ones  hot  and  thrown  forward 332 

do.     fore  ones  thrown  forward 350 

Feverish  symptoms 158,  198 

Flanks,  bedewed  with  cold  perspiration 97,  112 

do.       heaving  at  the 116,  125 

do.       head  turned  toward 1JI0 

do.       tucked  up 3£>0 

Flesh,  quivering 3£n0 

Flesh,  loss  of. 2Jt9 

Foaming  at  the  mouth 67 

Food,  no  desire  for 178,  223 

Foot,  pointing  of. 330,  342 

Fore-legs  widely  separated 116 

do ,        beneath  the  belly 75 

do.         in  the  manger,  kicking  and  tearing 78 

Gait,  heavy,  slow,  and  unsteady 75,  289 

do.    short,  tripping,  and  cautious 330 

Groaning  after  passing  urine 224 

Gums,  covered  with  slime 112 

Hair,  falls  off  in  patches 275 

do.         do.     in  circular  patches  on  shoulders  and  sides 291 


A  GUIDE  TO  DIAGNOSIS  429 

PACKS 

Hair  of  neck  and  legs  elevated  in  blotches 289 

do.    rough,  unthrifty,  and  not  glossy 275,  299 

Haw,  swollen 

do.    shooting  above,  on  raising  the  jaw 70 

Flead,  depressed  and  bent  to  one  side 59 

do.     hanging  down 1°* 

dc,     held  drooping H6,  208 

do.     kept  elevated 

do      kept  near  the  ground 179 

do.     reposing  on  the  manger 62 

do.     swollen  and  dropsical 397 

do.     tossed  backward "1 

do.     turning  of  to  the  sides 120 

do.     turned  to  the  belly 179 

do.     turned  toward  flanks 190,  223 

do.     violently  thrust  against  the  rack  or  wall 62 

Health,  general,  slightly  impaired 158 

Heart,  violent  beating  of 206 

Heaviness  and  indolence  following  suddenly  on  activity 75 

Heels,  dry,  horny  scabs  on 284 

do.      pinched  in 330 

do.      ulcers  on 284 

Hind  limbs  become  suddenly  too  weak  to  support  the  body 66 

Hock,  enlargement  at  point  of 322 

do.  do.  on  inside  of. 323 

Hock-joint,  stiffness  of 371 

1  tching,  severe 291 

.1  aw,  swelling  under ..., 412 

J  ugular  veins  congested 124 

do.         do.  pulsate  like  an  artery 124 

Lamenes*s  in  hind  leg 370 

Legs,  cold * 1°3 

do.     hind,  dropsical 12^ 

do.       do.     swollen *°° 

do.       do.     widely  separated 2-4 

do.     straddling 223 

do.     tremble 206 

Lethargy 59 

Q7 
Limbs,  cold Vi 

do.      swellings  on 297 

do.      violently  convulsed 67 

Lips,  swelling  of 29? 


430  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

PAGIB 

Listlessness 206 

Loins,  pressure  on  causes  pain  and  crouching 223 

Look,  fixed  and  stupid 75 

Lying  down  and  soon  rising 112,  178 

Motion,  loss  of. 64 

do.      tremulous  of  various  parts  of  the  body 64 

do.      unwillingness  of 116 

Mouth,  bright  yellow  color  of  lining  of 212 

do.      cold 124 

do.      dried  up Ill 

do.      dry  and  clammy 75 

do.      foaming  at 67,  162 

do.      hot  and  clammy 116 

do.      hot  and  dry 201 

do.      membranes  of,  pale 397 

do.      yellow  tinge  on  the  inside  surface  of 99 

Movement,  stiff 332 

Neck,  blotches  on,  after  being  driven , 287 

do.     cold  sweats  on 112 

do.     muscles  of,  rigid 73 

do.     tumor  or  swelling  on  nape  of 293 

Nose,  bleeding  from 112 

do.     gluey  matter  from 156 

do.     lining  of,  pale 397 

Nostrils,  dilated 97 

do.      discharge  from,  streaked  with  blood 97 

do.       mucous  discharge  from 102 

do.      redness  of  lining  membranes  of Ill 

do.      scarlet  blotches  in 289 

Pawing  with  fore-feet 63 

do.              do.           slightly 198 

Perspiration,  profuse 78,  179 

do.               do.     and  chilly 183 

Pulse,  active 350 

do.      feeble 188 

do.      full,  strong,  and  frequent 111,183 

do.      hard  and  quickened 223 

do.      nearly  gone 94 

do.      quick  and  oppressed !  78 

do.      slow  and  sluggish 63 

do.      small  and  quick 158 

do.      snmll  and  thready 97,  1 87 


A  GUIDE  TO  DIAGNOSIS.  431 

PAGM 

Folsf).  unnaturally  strong 64 

do.      variable . H6 

do.      wiry 74?  120 

Reeling  and  falling,  on  being  urged  to  move 59 

Respiration  quick  and  jerking 350 

Restlessness 178,  201 

Rolling 190,205 

Rolling  and  tumbling 179,  183 

Rubbing,  constant 275 

Shivering  fit,  followed  by  discharge  from  nostrils 108 

do.        do.  slight 116,  198 

Shoulder,  wasting  of. 324,  330 

Sides,  blotches  on,  after  being  driven 287 

Skin,  coldness  of 124 

do.    hot 201 

Sleep,  deep  and  snoring , 64 

Sleepiness 59,  62,  75,  212 

do.        with  general  fever 78 

Stamping  and  pawing  continually 193,  205 

"  Star-gazing  " 43 

Steps,  short  and  slow 332 

Stomach,  pain  in 178 

Strength,  much  reduced 178 

Swallow,  loss  of  power  to 64 

Sweating,  cold 178 

do.        profuse 78 

Tail,  elevated  and  quivering 179 

do.    great  inclination  to  rub  against  posts  and  fences 220 

Tears,  excessive  flow  of 46 

Thighs,  corded  swellings  on  inside  of 158 

Teeth,  covered  with  slime 112 

Thirst,  great 120,  223,  289 

Throat,  sore 108 

Toes,  walking  on 342 

Tongue,  foul 75 

do.        has  a  horny  feel,  and  turns  brown , . . .   112 

do.       livid 94,187 

do.        leaden  colored ,   179 

do.        of  a  bluish  cast 205 

do.       slightly  coated 99,  198,  208 

Torpor 61 

Tottering  anH  dropping  down 205 


432  DADDS  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  BURGERY. 

EA0M 

Turning,  awk  hardness  in. ...* - 75 

Unconsciousness 61 

Unsteadiness  in  moving 61,  208 

Urine,  of  a  dark  yellow  color • 99 

do.    high  colored 120,332 

do.     scanty 208 

do.      do.     and  red 223 

do.     frequent  and  painful  discharge  of 224 

do.     light  colored,  almost  transparent 230 

do.     has  the  smell  of  musty  hay • • 230 

do.    hloody 237,297 

Vomit,  continued  efforts  to ••• 183 

Vomiting,  from  both  nostrils 187 

Walking,  leaning  to  one  side  in ••••••••• « 75 

Windpipe,  rattling  sound  in Ill 

Wind,  from  the  bowels. < 179,190 


GLOSSARY 


OP 


MEDICAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  TERMS. 


Abnormal — Irregular. 

Absorbents — Medicines  used  for  absorbing;  also  the  vessels  of  &£ 

body  which  suck  up. 
Acute — Sharp,  severe. 
Adipose — Fatty. 
Adynamic — Debilitated. 
Alae — Wings. 

Alteratives — Medicines  which  change  a  disease  for  the  bertef, 
Anasarca — Dropsy  of  cellular  membrane. 
Anasarcous — Dropsical. 
Anaemia — Bloodlessness. 

Antiseptics — Medicines  opposed  to  putrefaction. 
Antispasmodics — Remedies  opposed  to  spasms  or  convulsions. 
Antiphlogistic — Opposed  to  inflammation. 
Aperients — Medicines  which  open  the  bowels  gently. 
Aqueous — Watery. 
Ascites — Dropsy  of  the  belly. 
Ataxic — Disordered. 

Auscultation — Examination  by  sounding  and  listening. 
Autopsy — Post-mortem  examination. 


Bifurcation — Division  into  two  branches. 

Bolus — A  large  pill. 

Buccal  Membrane — The  lining  of  the  month. 


Canthus — Corner  of  the  eye. 
Capsule — Shell  or  case. 
28 


433 


434  DADDS   VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 

Carbonaceous — Containing  carbon. 

Carminatives — Medicines  which  relieve  pain  by  expelling  wind  fro» 

the  bowels. 
Cartilaginous — Composed  of  cartilage. 
Cathartic — Loosening. 
Cellular — Cell-like. 
Cerebellum — The  brain. 
Cerebrum — The  brain. 
Chancrous — Cancerous. 
Clinical — Relating  to  individual  practice. 
Coma — Stupor. 
Comatose — Stupefied 
Conjunctival  Membrane — The  membrane  whioh  lines  the  eyelids 

and  covers  the  eyeball. 
Cornea — Transparent  coat  of  the  eye. 
Cranial — Pertaining  to  the  skull. 
Cranium — Skull. 
Crucial — Shaped  like  a  cross. 

Decarbonize — To  purify  by  air. 

Diagnosis — The  art  of  telling  the  naturo  of  diseases. 

Diaphoretics — Medicines  which  promote  perspiration. 

Diathesis — Predisposition  to  certain  diseases. 

Dietetics — Regulation  of  diet. 

Diuretics — Medicines  which  increase  the  flow  of  urine. 

Duct — Canal. 

Dynamic — Relating  to  the  vital  forces. 

Emollients — Substances  used  to  reduce  inflammations. 
Emphysema — Distention  by  gas  or  wind  of  certain  portions  of  the 

body. 
Emunctories — Organs  which  carry  off  waste  matters. 
Encephalon — The  brain. 
Enema — Injection. 

Enzootic — Endemic  diseases  among  animals. 
Epizootic — Epidemic  among  animals. 
Equilibrium — Balance. 
Equine — Relating  to  the  horse. 
Etiology — The  doctrine  of  the  causes  of  disorders. 
Excrementitious — Useless. 

Excretory — Relating  to  vessels  which  throw  off  useless  matter. 
Extravasation — Escape  of  a  fluid  of  the  body  from  its  vessel  into 

surrounding  parts. 


4 

GLOSSARY  OF  MEDICAL  AND  SCIENTIFIC  TEBMS.  4S6 

Exudation — Oozing  through  a  membrane. 

Fauces — The  throat. 
Fleam — Usea  m  bleeding. 

Graminivorous — Feeding  on  grass. 

Hematosine — The  red  coloring  matter  of  the  biovii 

Hemorrhage — Bleeding. 

Hippiatric — Relating  io  diseases  of  the  horse. 

Histology — General  anatomy. 

Hydrocephalus — Water  in  the  head. 

Hygiene — Preservation  of  health. 

Ichorous — Hunioiy . 
Idiopathic — Primary  affections. 
Idiosyncrasy — Peculiarity  of  constitution. 
Intubated — Hardened. 
Inguinal — Belonging  to  the  groin. 
Intercostal — Between  the  ribs. 
Inunction — The  act  of  rubbing  in. 

Lachrymal  Glands — Those  which  secrete  tears. 

Lancinating — "  Shooting." 

Laxatives — Loosening  medicines. 

Lesion — Disorder. 

Ligament — The  substance  which  joins  bones  together. 

Mammae — Breasts. 
Masseters — Muscles  of  the  jaws. 
Morbid — Diseased. 
Morbific — Producing  disease. 

Navicular — One  of  the  bones  of  the  foot. 
Neuro-pathology — The  nervous  system  in  3ifl9Mfc 
Nodulous — Like  a  knot. 
Nosology — Classification  of  diseases. 

(Edematous — Swollen. 
Opaque — Not  transparent. 
Os  calcis — Bone  of  the  heel. 
Osseous — Bony. 
Ovoid — In  form  of  an  egg. 


> 

436  DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AKT)  HURLER?. 

Palatine — Relating  to  the  palate. 

Panzootic — An  ep'taroic  affecting  animals  generally. 

Parasite — An  animal  which  lives  on  another. 

Parotid — Largest  salivary  gland. 

Pathology — The  study  of  the  body  in  disease. 

Pedicle — Narrow  part  of  a  tumor. 

Petechial — Resembling  flea-bites. 

Phthisis — Wasting  away. 

Pituitary  Membrane — Lining  of  the  nostrils. 

Pseudo-membranous — Relating  to  false  membrane*. 

Pus — Matter. 

Pylorus — Entrance  into  intestines. 

Bale — A  watery  sound  heard  in  sounding  the  ehest  in  tOBft  &JiMMf 

Sanative — Health-giving. 

Schneiderian  Membrane — The  lining  of  the  nostrils. 

Sebaceous — Of  the  nature  of  suet. 
Sedatives — Medicines  which  produce  sleep. 
Serous — Watery. 
Serum — Watery  part  of  the  blood. 
Solvent — That  which  dissolves. 
Sporadic — Scattered.  <-4 

Submaxillary — Beneath  the  jaw. 
Sudamina — Small  eruptions. 
Supra -renal — \bove  the  kidney. 

Thoracic — Relating  to  the  chest. 

Thyroid — Shaped  like  a  folding  door. 

Tonics — Medicines  which  give  tone  and  strength  to  the  bod/. 

Tubercular — Relating  to  tumors  in  the  structure  of  an  orgut 

Tumefaction — Swelling. 

Turbinated  Bones — Bones  of  the  nose  shaped  like  a  top. 

Tcrgescence — Great  amount  of  humors  in  any  part. 

Vascular — Full  of  blood-vessels 

Ventricle — Cavity. 

7irus — Poison. 

Vis  a  fronte — Force  from  the  front 

Yis  a  tergo — Fores>  of  propulsion. 

Viscous — Sticky. 

Voice  box  —Larynx. 


INDEX. 


A  PAGES 

AMomen  distended  with  Gas 188 

ao.        dropsy  of 199 

Abdominal  cavity,  \vound3  of 206 

Abscess  within  the  substance  of  the 

brain 58 

Absorbents,  disease  of. 156 

Abstraction  of  blood 268 

Acute  cough 99 

Acute  disease  of  the  laminae  of  the 

foot 350 

Acute  disease  of  the  eye 46 

Acute  rheumatism 333 

Acute  and  general  disease  of  the 
brain,  known  as  encephali- 
tis      "6 

Advantages  of  in-and-iu  breeding.  315 

Affections,  typhoid 110 

Age  of  horse,  as  known  by  his  teeth.  127 

Albuminous  urine 235 

Amaurosis 40 

Amputations 26U 

Amputation  of  the  penis 261 

Anaomia 397 

Analysis  of  the  blood  in  glanders.     25 

Anatomy  of  the  lungs 90 

Anatomy  and  physiology,  impor- 
tance of  studying 315 

Anatomy  of  the  tail 394 

Animals  become  parents  too  early.  312 

Apoplexy,  cerebral 64 

Apoplexy  of  the  spine 65 

Apoplexy  of  the  spleen 206 


PAGE* 

Artereotomy 268 

Ascites,  or  abdominal  dropsy 199 

Atrophy,  or  wasting  of  muscles  in 
the  region  of  the  shoulder- 
blade 324 

B 

Back,  galled 400 

Big  head  and  big  jaw 3G2 

Bladder,  inflammation  of 224 

do.        stone  in 224 

do.        rupture  of 232 

Bleeding,  various  modes  of 268 

Blistering 263 

Bloody  urine 237 

Blood,  the  quantity  found  in  the 

body 402 

Blood,  its  transfusion 404 

Bog  spavin 323 

Bone,  removing  tumor  from 258 

Bots,  stomachic  and  hemorrhoidal.  164 

Bowed  legs ?81 

Brain,  abscess  within  its  substance.     58 

do.   diseases  of 58 

do.   dropsy  of --•-     50 

do.   inflammation  of. 78 

Breeding,  and  the  principles  of  the 

same 3(2 

do.  in-and-in , 307 

Brief  exposition  of  the  function  of 

the  lungs 88« 

Bronchocele .   103 

437 


438 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


C  PAGES 

Capped  hook 322 

Carbuncular  Fever 206 

Case  of  laryngitis  in  Patchen  colt.     94 

Case  of  croup 97 

Case  of  pleurisy  and  dropsy  of  the 

chest 120 

C*se  of  meteorization 186 

Cnsting,  mode  of 241 

Castration 243 

do.         by  cauterization 245 

do.         the  French  method 249 

do.        by  ligature 251 

Cataract 45 

Catarrh,  epizootic 106 

Causes  of  disease 19 

Cerebral  hemorrhage 64 

Chabert  on  polypus 102 

Chest  Founder 333 

Chords 335 

Chorea,  equine 81 

Chronic  rheumatism 336 

Circulation  of  the  heart 401 

do.         experiments  on  its  ra- 
pidity   403 

Colic,   flatulent 189 

do.      spasmodic 193 

do.      treated  by  inhalation 195 

Composition    of   the    blood    of    a 

healthy  horse 25 

Composition  cf  the  blood  glandered     25 

Condition,  out  of. 299 

Congenital  glanders 24 

Contagiousness  of  glanders 151 

do  of  strangles 413 

Contraction  of  the  hoof 344 

Copeman  on  treatment  of  inflam- 
mation      47 

Copeman  on  meningitis 80 

Cornea,  opacity  of 44 

Corns 384 

Cough,   in   its   chronic   and  acute 

stage : 99 

Croup,  (cynanche  trachealis)....         95 

Curry-comb,  use  and  abuse  of o97 

Curbs 319 

Curing  diseases,  the  best  method  of.     26 
Curvation  and  disease  of  the  spine.  361 

Cynanche  trachealis 95 

Cystitis 224 


D  PAGCT 

Death  of  a   horse   from  ruptured 

stomach 179 

Dentition 127 

Diabetes 229 

Diet 133 

do.  changes  in,  recommended 141 

Digestive  organs,  disease  of 160 

Disease,  causes  of 18 

do.       hereditary  causes  of.......     20 

do.       cases  of , 26 

do.        o'  the  urinary  organs 223 

Diseases  of  the  skin  and  sub-tis- 
sues   274 

Dislocation  of  the  stifle 343 

Distemper 41 J 

Division  of  the  flexor  tendons 2oy 

Docking  of  the  tail 396 

Dropsy  of  th«  brain 60 

do.      of  the  abdomen  or  chest....   199 

Dropsical  limbs 287 

Dun,  F.  on  causes  of  hereditary 

d'^ease 20 

E 

Education,  importance  of 32 

Elbow  tumor 321 

Encephalitis 76 

Enteritis 20] 

Enlargement  of  the  thyroid  glanas.  103 

Epilepsy 66 

Epiglottis,  spasm  of 90 

Epizootic  catarrh 106 

Equine  chorea,  or  stringhalt 81 

Experiments  by  M.  Magendie  on 
the  brain  and  nervous  sys- 
tem   83 

Experiments  on  the  itch  insact 277 

Eye,  diseases  of 40 

do.   films  or  specks  on 44 

do.   cataract  of  the 46 

do.   worm  within 45 

do.   acute  disease  of 46 

do.   common  inflammation  of 46 

do.   hooks  of 46 

do.    treatment     of     inflammation 

(Copeman  on) 4/ 

do.    purulent  ophthalmia  of. 55 

do.    periodical  inflammation  of....  56 

Eyelids,  foreign  bodies  within 41 


INDEX. 


439 


F  PAGES 

F*r«w    166 

Fevei   typhuB 110 

do.     carbuncular 206' 

do.     scarlet 288 

do.     in  feet 350 

Films  or  specks  on  the  eye 44 

Firiag 262 

Fistulous  withers 295 

?i'e  epileptic 66 

lo.  hereditary  origin  of 67 

Flatulent  colic 189 

Flexor  tendons,  division  of 259 

Food,  effects  of  various  kinds 137 

do.     quality  required 138 

Foot,  division  of  the  nerves  of 256 

do.    inflammation  and  ulceration 

of  the  bones  of 330 

do.    management  of,  in  the  stable.  409 
Foreign  bodies  within  the  eyelids.     44 

Founder  bleeding  for  the  same 37 

do.         grain 182 

do.         chest  or  water 333 

do.        in  the  feet 350 

Fracture  of  the  pelvis 376 

Functional  disease  of  the  liver 211 

Function  of  the  pancreas 216 

Fundament,  falling  of 387 

Q 

Galled  back 400 

Gamgee  on  splenic  apoplexy 206 

Gastritis 178 

Giddiness,  or  vertigo 74 

Glands,  thyroid,  enlargement  of...  103 

Glanders 147 

do.      congenital 24 

do.      analysis  of  the  blood 25 

do.      can  be  communicated  to 

man 147 

do.      contagiousness  of. 151 

do.      why    the    disease    is    so 

called 155 

Glass  eye 40 

Gleet,  nasal .  153 

Glottis,  spasm  of 90 

Gohier  on  polypus 103 

Goiter 103 

Gorged  or  over-distended  stomach.  182 
Urfcin  founder 182 


pa  on 

Grease 283 

do.    nature  of 23 

do.    transmission  of  from  horse 

to  man 265 

Gullet,  opening  of  to  remove  for- 
eign bodies 255 

Gutta  serena 40 


Hsematuria 237 

Head,  big 362 

Heart  sac,  inflammation  of. 123 

Heart,  its  circulation 401 

Heaves  125 

Heels,  disease  of 283 

Hemorrhage,  cerebral 64 

do.  spinal 65 

Hemorrhoidal  bots 164 

Hemorrhoids,  or  piles 391 

Hereditary  origin  of  epileptic  fits.     66 

do.        causes  of  disease 20 

Herpes 299 

Hip  shot,  or  pinhipped 376 

Hide-bound 299 

Hock,  capped 322 

Hollow  back ...  361 

Hoof,  contraction  of 344 

Hoof-bound 347 

Hooks 46 

Horse  ail 411 

Horses,  lice  on 282 

Horse's  foot,  management  of,  in  the 

stable 409 

Hydrocephalus 60 

I 

Importance  of  ventilating  stables, 
in  view  of  preventing  dis- 
eases of  the  lungs & 

In-and-in  breeding 807 

Inflammation,  nature  of. 38 

do.              its  nature  and  treat- 
ment   85 

do.              treatment  of.  47 

do              common,  of  the  eye.  46 

do.              periodical,     do.  56 

do.              of  the  brain 76 

do.  of  lining  membrane 

of  larynx W 


4  10 


I) ADD  S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  STTUGERY. 


PAGES 

lEflammation  of  the  lungs 114 

io.  of  the  pleura 119 

do.  of    the    pericardium 

or  heart  sac 123 

do.  of  the  Btomach 178 

do.  of  the  peritoneum....  197 

do.  of  the  intestines 201 

do.  of  the  bladder 224 

do.  of  the  kidneys 223 

do.  and     ulceration     of 

bones  of  the  feet..  330 
do.  rheumatic,     of     the 

neck  (chords) 335 

inflammatory  laryngitis 92 

Influenza,  or  epizootic  catarrh.    ...   106 
do.        followed    by    acute   dis- 
ease of  the  brain 108 

Inhalation,    colic    treated    by    the 

same 195 

Intestines,  strangulation  of 205 

do.        inflammation  of. 201 

Intestinal  canal,  parasites  infest- 
ing the 217 

Iodine,  Morton  on 105 

Itch 274,  291 

do.  insect,  experiments  on 277 

J 
Jaundice 211 

K 

Kidneys,  inflammation  of 223 

do.         sprain  across 223 

Knees,  sprung.. 381 

L 

Lameness  from  various  causes 319 

do         navicular 330 

do.        remarks  on 385 

Laminitis 350 

Lampas 160 

Laryngitis,    suppurative    and   in- 
flammatory      92 

Leblanc,  M.,  on  tracheotomy 100 

Legs,  bowed 381 

do.    swelled 287 

Lice  on  horses 282 

Limbs,  dropsical 287 

Lithotomy,  method  of  performing  .  252 


FAQKt 

Liver,  functional  disease  of 211. 

Locked-jaw 70 

do.        test  of 70 

Lungs,  anatomy  of 91 

do.     function  of 88 

do.     inflammation  of 114 

M 

Mad  staggers 11 

Magendie's  experiments  on  animals     JM 

Malignant  typhus 113 

Management  of  the  horse's  foot  in 

the  stable 4C9 

Mange 274 

Meningitis,  cerebral 77 

do.  Copeman  on 89 

Meteorization  of  the  intestines 18.') 

Morton  on  iodir-e 103 

N 

Nasal  gleet 158 

Navicular  lameness 330 

Navicular thrites 341 

Nephrites 2^,8 

Nervous  system £<i 

Neurotomy,  mode  of  operating 2£0 

Nicking 26tf 

do.      the  tail 3S2 

Nitrate  of  potass,  its  uses 3S5 

Nostrils,  polypus  within 101 

O 

Objections  to  in-and-in   breeding 

answered 3i.4 

CEsophagotomy 255 

(Estrus  equi 171 

(Estrus,  hemorrhoidalis 17S 

Opacity  of  the  cornea ..,  44 

Operations,  surgical 289 

Ophthalmia 4tJ 

do.        purulent 56 

do.         specific.  56 

Osteo  porosis,  known  as  big  head 

and  big  jaw 362 

Out  of  condition 299 

P 

Pancreas  and  its  function 21.6 

Paraplegia && 


INDEX. 


441 


PAGES 

Parasites  infesting  the  intestinal 

canal 217 

Patchen  colt,  laryngitis,  ease  of....     94 

Pelvis,  fracture  of 376 

Penis,  amputation  of 261 

Feritonitis ....  197 

Pericarditis 123 

do.         Woodger  on 124 

Firitouvjum,  inflammation  of. 197 

Periosteotomy 258 

Phlebotomy 270 

Phrenitis 77 

Piles,  or  hemorrhoids 391 

Pinhipped,  or  hip  shot 376 

Pleurisy 119 

do        and  dropsy  of  the  chest, 

case  of. 1^0 

Pleurodynia,   painful   affection  of 
the   pleura  and  muscles  of 

the  chest 332 

Poll  evil 292 

Pneumonia 114 

Polypus  within  the  nostrils 101 

do.        Chabert  ou 102 

do.        Gohier  en 103 

Pricking  the  tail 392 

Profuse  stalling 229 

Prolapsus  ani  (falling  of  the  fun- 
dament)     387 

Prurigo 291 

Pure  water  needed  by  horses  and 

cattle 398 

Purulent  ophthalmia 66 


Quantity  of  blood  in  a  horse's  body.  402 
Quarter  crack 362 

R 

Remarks  on  veterinary  science....     19 

Remedy  for  tape-worm 221 

Respiratory  organs,  diseases  of....     86 

Retention  of  urine 229 

Rheumatio  inflammation  of  neck...  336 

Rheumatism,  acute 333 

do.  chronic 336 

Ring-boue 337 

Ring-worm — 291 

Roaring 100 


PAGES 

Rowelling 266 

Rupture  of  the  bladder 232 

do.      of  the  stomach- 178 

8 

Saliva,  amount  of  secretion 163 

Salivation,  spontaneous  slavering    162 

Sand  crack 352 

Scabies 276 

Scarlatina 288 

Scarlet  fever 288 

Scratches 283 

Scrofula,  its  predisposition 24 

Scurvy 297 

Shoulder  blade,   wasting   of  mus- 
cles of 324 

Sitfast 400 

Skin,  diseases  of 278 

do.     warts  on 295 

Slinging,  mode  of 242 

Spasm  of  the  muscles  of  the  glottis 

and  epiglottis 90 

Spasmodic  colic 193 

Spavin 370 

do.      bog 323 

Specific  ophthalmia 50 

Specks  on  the  eyes 44 

Spinal  hemorrhage 65 

Spine,  disease  and  curvature  of....   361 

Spleen,  enlargement  of 208 

Splent •'-  •  8 

Splenic  apoplexy 206 

Sprung  knees 381 

Stables,  importance  of  ventilating.     86 

Staggers,  Coleman  on 68 

do.       sleepy,  blind,  or  mad 76 

Stifle  out,  dislocation  of  the  stifle- 
bone —..  343 

Stocking 287 

Stomachic  bots 104 

Stomach,  gorged 1S2 

do.       inflammation  of 178 

do        rupture  of. 178 

do        staggers 62 

Stone  in  the  bladder... 224 

Stringhalt 81 

St.  Vitus's  dance 81 

Strangles 411 

do.        contagiousness  of. 411 


442 


DADD'S  VETERINARY  MEDICINE  AND  SURGERY. 


PAGES 

atrangulation  of  the  intestines.....  205 

Suppurative  laryngitis 92 

Suppression  of  nrine 226 

Surgical  instruments 238 

do.      operations 239 

Surfeit 286 

Sway  back 861 

Sweeny 324 

Swelled  legs m 287 

T 

Tail,  anatomy  of 894 

do.    docking  of 395 

do.    nicking 392 

Tape-worm,  remedy  for 221 

Temporary  teeth,  remarks  on 128 

Tetanus 70 

Teeth,  age  of  horse  as  shown  by  the  127 

Tetter 299 

The  principles  of  breeding 304 

Thick  water 235 

Thinning  of  blood 397 

Thorough-pin 328 

Thyroid  glands,  enlargement  of....  103 

Toe  sand-crack 854 

Trachealis,  cynanche 95 

Tracheotomy 254 

do.  Leblanoon 100 

Transfusion  of  blood 404 

Tumor  of  the  elbow 821 

do.     removing  of,  from  bone 258 

Twitch,  use  of. . 239 

Typhus,  or  typhoid  affections 110 

do.       malignant 113 

Tympanitis 188 

U 

Uriury  organs,  disease  oL. 228 


FAcn 

Urination,  profuse *. 229 

Urine,  suppression  of *.««. 226 

do.     retention  of 229 

do.      albuminous...... 235 

do.     bloody 287 

Use  and  abuse  of  the  curry-comb..  397 

V 

Vapor  bath 114 

Varix,  or  bog  spavin 323 

Ventilation,  importance  of- 86 

Vermifuges 221 

Vertigo 74 

Veterinary  science,  remarks  on....     19 
do.        science,  the  relation  it 
bears  to  social  sci- 
ence      27 

do.        science,  how  to  inaugu- 
rate it 80 

do.        education,  importance 

of 32 

W 

Warts  on  the  skin 295 

Water  founder 888 

do.    necessity  of  its  purity 898 

Windgalls 879 

Windpipe,  opening  of. 254 

Withers,  fistulous 295 

Woodger  on  pericarditis 124 

Worms 217 

Worm  within  the  eye 45 

Wounds  penetrating  the  abdominal 

cavity 206 

Y 
Yellows ~ 811 


Webster  Family  Library  of  Veterinary  Medicine 
Cun       js  School  of  Veterinary  Medicine  at 
Tufts  University 
200  Westboro  Road 
North  Grafton,  MA  01536 


Webster  p?^m  Library       -ary  Medfcii 

CumHffl#9S  Sch001  of  x  e(*'ciR8  * 

Tufts         ver*      . 

200  m 

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